I’ve tried to follow my intuition for quite a while now, certainly since at age 23 I followed an overwhelming compulsion to leave my family and home in Britain and find a new life in British Columbia. But I have to admit that right now my intuition seems to be taking me into some very new territory indeed.

With this little preamble, I’d like to share a personal story with you that has been unfolding in my consciousness the last week or two which may or may not be of interest, and which you may or may not even find believable.

A long time ago, I had a cousin named Ivor who was kind of a ‘guardian’ to me in some ways in my early days–from the age of 3 or 4, let’s say, into my early 20’s.

When I was 17 or so, not really knowing much about anything, to be honest, I left school and, with help from my Dad, got a job as a junior Reporter on a weekly newspaper called the South London Press. Dad was a well-known and respected reporter on top London dailies, and the idea was, of course, that I would follow in his footsteps.

Putting all this another way, I was working my way up the ladder toward a traditional British middle class class experience when one day my parents received a letter from Ivor that changed my life.

Ivor had gone out to what was then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to be editor of a business magazine called the Rhodesian Recorder. He sent a letter to my parents inviting me to come out to Rhodesia and help him as an assistant reporter on his magazine. My parents, to their great credit, gave their blessing to this.

The two years I spent with Ivor in Africa drastically expanded my horizons. I began to realize there was much more to life than I had previously thought. After two years, a lust arose in me to do some more traveling, and I said goodbye to Ivor and spent some time journeying around Australia and New Zealand.

As I say, Ivor played a pivotal role in my life. But here is where this story takes a big turn. Because though my cousin has been dead for many years, now, suddenly, in the last two weeks or so, I feel as if his spirit is reaching out to me.

Perhaps it is just my imagination. But strange as it may sound, I feel that Ivor is not only “alive and well” so to speak in the afterlife–his body gone but his spirit untouched. I feel, more importantly, that he wishes to be a ‘guardian’ for me once again in my latter years. I believe that he wishes to help me face my fears and open my eyes to new possibilities as I navigate these latter years of my life. (I was 87 on May 18.) 

It’s possible, isn’t it? I know that this is a very delicate subject. But if you do have any thoughts on the above that you would like to share, I would love to hear from you.

With love and blessings, Chris.