I’m a very unlikely person to be doing this work. I spent 36 years working in corporate America and enjoying a 6-figure income. But when my mother died in 2003, everything changed. Somehow, all that business stuff didn’t seem to matter any more. I found that, while I still cared about my clients, I didn’t really care how the company did. And since most clients have to make their businesses successful, I didn’t seem to be serving them well any more. So when there was a layoff in my high-tech company, I didn’t even look for another job. I viewed it as a gift.

A little background

Mom and I were very close my entire life. I was the only girl and I know I held a special place in her heart. She was my best friend as well as my Mom. While we lived in different cities after I graduated from college, we talked a lot and I always valued her wisdom, even well into my own adulthood. About a year before she passed, she had a health scare and we thought we might lose her. At that time, I prayed like never before. I was definitely not ready to lose her. When she pulled through, something clicked inside me and I decided that I would cherish every moment I had with her and love her unconditionally.

I had always felt her unconditional love but now I experienced loving her unconditionally. All the little annoying things just rolled off and I truly did cherish every moment with her. I traveled to see her much more often and we talked at least once a day. I loved the early mornings and late nights especially because that was our time to just sit with a cup of tea or a glass of wine and talk, really talk. I didn’t have a romantic relationship at the time and I was never blessed with children, so Mom became the major focus of my life.

After spending nearly two solid months with Mom while she was recovering from a broken hip, I went home to tend to my own affairs and my sick cat and prepare to come back and stay with Mom and help her re-adjust to being in her own home. I had been home just two weeks when I got the call from my brother, a cardiologist, that Mom was gone. I couldn’t believe it. This was supposed to be a routine procedure with a 1% chance she wouldn’t make it. Well, Mom saw an opportunity to release her increasingly painful body and she took it. I felt enormous guilt that I wasn’t there when she passed. I literally can’t tell you what I did for several months after Mom passed. I know I went to work and I even did some projects. But mostly I cried and missed Mom terribly.

My New Path Emerged

I had always been fascinated with the idea of exploring the unseen world and had a couple of fun sessions with psychics but now I had an important reason to pursue the concept more deeply. I found some people who could connect with Mom and that was the only thing that brought me some joy in those months -- that, and when I eventually noticed that Mom was sending me butterflies and hummingbirds, her favorite and mine. Through a medium, Mom told me that it was better that I wasn’t there when she passed – that it would have been much harder for her to leave if I had been there. That helped a lot to relieve my guilt.

I had been on a spiritual path since 1995 and had tried my hand at animal communication with some success. So I decided to try to contact Mom myself. With some great support from my spiritual teachers I eventually broke through and felt her put her arm around me and say into my left ear “I knew you could do it!” Never have I been so happy to hear something! It felt so good to be with her again.

That day I decided I wanted to be able to bring that kind of comfort to others. I spent several years studying and practicing and practicing and studying to get to the point where I felt comfortable enough to hang out my shingle and Voila! Spirited-Connections was born.

I view myself as an emotional healer. I love to connect clients with their loved ones on the other side and see the difference that it can make in their lives. I love it when they realize that some little thing that’s been happening (like lights going on and off, for instance) is really their loved one sending them a message. I love for my clients to get closure and dissolve the “what if’s” and “if only’s”. And I love to bring some comfort and ease the pain of grief, while rebuilding the bridge of love.

I doubt that I’ll ever stop missing my Mom’s body, the twinkle in her eye, the sound of her laugh, how she enjoyed a good meal and a good back scratch, but in many ways my relationship with her is the strongest it’s even been. She can be with me wherever I am now, whereas she didn’t travel much in her later years. She has a higher level perspective now and I love to hear her views on things. She still has her wonderful sense of humor and can make me laugh. And she’s so happy now that I find myself being happy for her. My hope is that I can help you experience the kind of connection that you want with your departed loved one too.

My Training

• Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
• NLP Health Certified
• Certified NLP Coach
• Certified Dream Coach ®
• Certified Dream Coach Group Leader ®,
• Certified Too Young To Retire coach
• Licensed in the Know Your PurposeTM method
  

For Your Spirited-Connections readings
Email Pat Duran at pat@patduran.com or
Call Pat at 408 972-1200 (PT)