A visit from the Irish harpist ...

The Harp Sessions: Caravaggioesque
Originally uploaded by eugkyr

I went to an informal dinner party at a couple's home who I've known now for about 16 years. The gathering included a few of their neighbors -- older women who I've come to know over the past decade. The "force", however, that was the common bond for all of us is no longer on this earthly plane. A feisty Irish woman named Sinead -- who lost a valiant battle back in 2004 to pancreatic cancer.

Sinead was a hospice nurse and the next door neighbor to my friends who hosted this dinner. The other women in attendance were neighbors and friends of Sinead -- two of the four are also Irish. These strong women who live on this block took turns caring for Sinead while she was dying, over the course of 7 months. There was not one night when Sinead had to sleep alone. As they spoke about her last night, there was still grief and love and tender hearts abound.

Sinead was the first person I met who could see auras and who taught me how to view them. My former partner had a natural gift for seeing them, while I have developed this ability more so over time -- particularly in my Kabbalistic healing practice. Last evening, as we were talking over appetizers in the living room, I could not help but be distracted by a very intensely green-gold glow and presence on the right side of one of Sinead's closest friends from Ireland. I made a decision at one point to speak up and share that it appeared that perhaps Sinead was here and described what I was seeing. These woman, over the years, have also witnessed this very same phenomena. My friend's husband busted out: "It would be just like Sinead to not want to miss out on a conversation that's all about her!" And we all laughed, because this was absolutely true. When she walked into a room, she had a commanding, halting presence. I often thought: "She's not OF this world."

Sinead had a gift for helping the dying to cross over. She could see what they saw. She spoke the language of the "other side". Sinead was also a harpist. She would bring her harp to the bedsides of her dying patients in their homes and serenade them to ease their pain, to help them comfortably fall asleep -- even if just for a few minutes. My friend's husband volunteered at the hospice that Sinead managed and he shared with us last night that watching her in "action" completely changed his perspective and his fears about dying. His only regret is that he had always hoped that Sinead would be the one to help him cross over and not the other way around.

Sinead was scarily psychic. To the most minute detail. She could often predict, almost to the hour, the time and day each of her hospice patients would leave the earth. She was also the first person to introduce me to Tarot cards; her favorite deck is the one I like to use the most for my own readings. Sinead, however, was not imposing; if you were drawn to what she could offer, it was like a magnetic pull toward her. I felt this with her, right from the first time we met.

Sinead was an invaluable resource when my partner's father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She offered many helpful suggestions and ways that we could help him cross over comfortably. It was devastating for both my partner and I to then learn, just 2 years after her father's death, that Sinead had the very same cancer diagnosis. It was a twist of fate that seemed unfathomable.

The women last night spoke of how ornary Sinead was during her dying period. She did not want any hospice involvement. To have hospice was to admit and acknowledge that she was dying. She fought tooth and nail til the very end of her life. When she was on the giving end of supporting people to leave the earth, she was fearless and solid as a rock. To be on the receiving end for her was both terrifying and unacceptable. None of us really understood how fearful she really was in her own relationship with death. And yet, these strong, amazing women that I was sitting with last night all rose to the occasion to support Sinead to do the very thing that she did for so many other dying souls. I was in the company of earth angels.

It was an incredible evening, with such bittersweet memories. And a visit from the Irish harpist in her green-gold spirit that lives on in each of us.