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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Author Interview of Mariah de la Croix (3/27/2013)

Dear Readers and Bloggers,

I am so happy and I feel so privileged to share with you this interview of Author Mariah de la Croix. Psychic and friend  She has been a great inspiration and mentor to me and and amazing friend, though we've never met in person. It is an honor and a blessing to share with you all the following interview, and I pray that is serves as an inspiration to you all. Please enjoy it!

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  1. Please, tell us a little about you book.

My book, Restless in Peace: A Psychic Mortician’s Encounters with Those who Refuse to Rest, is about my encounters with spirits and other entities during the nearly five years I worked in the funeral industry. Some of the retellings are chilling and may stick with the reader, while others are heart-warming and precious as most of my encounters dealt with the spirits of people who once walked the earth, just like we all do now – Ghosts were People, too.

I share with the reader encounters where I was, at first, unnerved by the spirits, then became friends with them. I write of spirits who fully manifest to do whatever they need to do for the living and the dead, while usually being quite amiable with a good sense of humor or giving comfort to those in need.

I take the reader down long, darkened hallways with me while I check on the antics of spirits, hopefully sharing with the reader my feelings along the way. My long-time, old fear of the dark was never more tested than when I worked in funeral homes, but in the years since, has been well overcome.

  1. Where can we buy it?

Restless in Peace: A Psychic Mortician’s Encounters with Those who Refuse to Rest is available in many bookstores, including Barnes & Noble and Powell’s Books, along with various venues over the internet, such as…

Signed copies are available directly from my website, which include a personal message to the purchaser: http://www.ladymariah.com/BOOK__Restless_in_Peace.php .

  1. Please, share a little about yourself with us.
I have been able to interact with spirits and other entities since before I could walk, but was encouraged to write about the spirits I encountered while working in the funeral industry by both families who could feel their presence during services, along with the spirits themselves. They wanted their stories told, even though they didn’t want to be known by their real names or with pointed particulars that would reveal who they or their families really are.

I am one who has a strong belief in a power much larger than all of us, whether someone chooses to refer to that power as God, Allah, The Holy Spirit, or even Bob or the feeling of that power being that which is within. I am also a firm believer in trying new things and never giving up or giving in to pressures of society. With that, at the age of 46 I entered into a completely new field when the business I owned and operated, a private housecleaning service, began to have difficulties when the economy took a nose-dive.

I wanted to return to school and attain a degree in something where all facets of what I’d learned over the 23 years of owning that business. A friend encouraged me to speak to the head of the Mortuary College near here, which I did, and within 45 minutes of speaking with him, I was in and hooked.

I worked very hard to get my A.A.S. in Mortuary Science, as well as pass the National Board Exams and State Exams. I was privileged to work in a profession I dearly loved until a long-neglected injury acted up and couldn’t be repaired, which caused me to have to leave the field permanently in 2009 at the age of 51. It was a heart-breaking decision to have to make, but it did lead me to finally come out of the proverbial “psychic closet”, so to speak, and offer readings to the public, as well as write my book.

  1. Do you remember your first “encounter/experience/vision”? If so, could you please tell us a little bit about it?
The earliest encounter with spirits I can recall is with a couple who resided in the first home I lived in, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This couple seemed to be old in years, but that could have been because I was just a little bitty thing of about a year old. I often saw them sitting in my mother’s rocking couch, with imprints of their bottoms in the feather cushion, but felt their presence more. One time, in the kitchen, while I sat in my high-chair across the room from my Father, who was busy at the stove making oatmeal, the couple helped me with a little problem. Since I was so young I couldn’t speak well yet, but needed to remind Dad that I didn’t want butter in my oatmeal. I couldn’t get his attention with my baby babble and this frustrated me to no end. The chair was lifted by unseen hands and moved across the room, with me in it, to settle down gently right behind him, so I could then touch his back and get his attention.

As he had served in the US Navy as a Fighting Seabee in New Hollandia Beach in WWII, his reactions were very sensitive. He whipped around to hit whatever had touched him, but stopped when he saw it was me. Dad let me know that he was making oatmeal for me that didn’t have butter in it, but also glared across the kitchen at someone I couldn’t see, and dipped his head as if to say thank you without speaking a word.

  1. Is your gift hereditary?
Yes, my gifts, or sensitivities, are most definitely hereditary. My Father’s side of the family is especially sensitive in many ways. My Mother’s side of the family is also sensitive, but in a more practical manner. Where my Father’s side of the family can sense and interact with spirits, my Mother’s side detects more the empathic energy of them, so together I am a culmination of the two sides.

  1. What was your most memorable encounter?
I would say my most memorable encounter happened when my daughter, who is now 30 years old, was about 4 or 5. I was very focused on getting my business going and paying the bills, along with doing the right things since I was a single parent. There never seemed to be time for me and I never had the opportunity to date after my daughter was born – I took my responsibilities very seriously, but that didn’t keep me from becoming lonely sometimes.

I sat in bed, next to my sleeping daughter, one evening after a particularly trying week and asked my Higher Power to send me a hero. I heard something in the hallway, just beyond the bedroom door, similar to the sound of a drawbridge lowering and hitting the ground. I then heard someone walking and clanking in a suit of armor. At my bedroom door, just on the other side of the threshold appeared the ghostly image of a knight in armor. He didn’t cross into the room, but stood respectfully as he extended his hand in my direction and nodded his head. I heard him say, “You asked for a hero, Milady, and they have sent me. You can come with me if you wish, but I warn you, I will not be able to bring you back.” I was speechless and thought of the possibilities there, but thought better of the journey, while also looking down upon the sleeping countenance of my precious daughter and thinking of my responsibilities in this life. I thanked the Knight and let him know I truly appreciated his appearance, which made me think and realize the magnitude of my life, as boring as it seemed at times. He then lowered his hand, nodded his head again and said, “So be it. Farewell, Milady, till we meet again.” At which point he turned and walked back to the “drawbridge” in the hallway. The sound of his clanking metal faded in the distance with the sound of the drawbridge lifting, which ended in the sound of a hard thud of wood against stone.

I got up and walked into the hallway to find my dog starring at the area of the hallway where the sound seemed to originate from. The area was a bit cooler than normal, but felt comfortable with the lingering scent of fresh air remaining. I was amazed, while my dog looked at me as if to say, “You got some nice friends, Mom.”

The next morning, when my Mother awoke and we were sitting together enjoying a cup of coffee, she said to me, “You know, I had the most interesting dream last night, Mariah. I dreamt that a Knight in armor came for a visit and gave you an offer to leave with him. I’m glad I was just dreaming; I don’t know what I’d do without you,” as she gave me a knowing smile.

  1. Have you ever been scoffed or harassed in any way because of your gift?
Oh, all the time. I was raised to not reveal my sensitivities to spirits and other things, so that I could “fit in” and be normal. That has never worked and, at over 50 years of age, I’ve finally just given in to it and accepted it, along with other issues that come up as they appear, and deal with it.

  1. What would you say is the biggest battle that you've faced as a result of having the abilities you have?
I think the biggest battle I’ve faced is within myself. I’ve had to learn how to be comfortable with having a somewhat double life – one that does the usual things like going to grocery store and doing the laundry, with the other being receptive to the spirits and the guiding hand of my Higher Power. It’s tiring sometimes, but I’m on the path where He wants me to be.

  1. What led you to write about your experiences/life?
Mainly the encouragement of people who came into the funeral homes and were mediums, sensitives, and psychic in their own right, but didn’t wish to engage with the spirits who knew me there; it was considered by them to be my territory and they didn’t wish to interfere, just encourage. Also, the spirits were persistent in their gentle nudging and opened doors for me in ways I never imagined, such as leading me to a publisher that would accept and contract my work, as well as give me a helping hand at times. I feel there was a bit of Devine energy there that helped a lot.

  1. Are there plans of any future books?
Where Restless in Peace is only about my nearly five years in the funeral industry, I am currently working on a book about my lifetime interaction with spirits in general, beginning with the first house I lived in, where the couple that rocked in the couch and moved my high-chair resided, all the way up to my current home where spirits from a neighboring aftercare home come to visit when they’re testing the water of being in spirit just prior to their actual death, along with many, many other things. In this second book I also hope to share with the reader my philosophical and spiritual journey, too.

  1. Would you like to add anything that I've not asked or share anything further with us?
Yes – I am often asked why spirits come back or if they’re stuck and therefore need our help to cross over. Spirits come back for any number of reasons. There are as many reasons as there are spirits and each reason is unique to that spirit. We should show them the same respect we would show our own loved ones – our mothers, our fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, etc. – and not expect them to really need our help since they also have free will just as we do. Some may need our assistance in resolving an issue they feel needs resolved, but that’s usually the extent of the effort we need to do. Once we do that, even if it is as simple as clearing up any confusion for them as to whether or not they indeed are deceased, they will pass on or cross over or go into the light or whatever on their own. For anyone to think that spirits need us to push them or force them across, when they are so close to the Higher Power already, is merely arrogance and egotism, as well as a false sense of superiority on that person’s part. The spirit may need some assistance in the physical sense, which can help them in the spiritual sense to, shall we say, rest and move on, but they don’t need pushed if they’re communicated with honestly, with honor, respect, compassion, and the dignity everyone deserves in life and in death.

The spirit may also have some issue that needs to be resolved before they cross, which is driving them to stay and bother people until it is resolved. These issues can run the gamut of needing their murderer brought to justice or just spoken to with caring and concern that they weren’t given in life. Many times a noisy spirit is just trying to get noticed and isn’t paid attention to when they try more subtle means of communication, so they’ll rattle dishes and move furniture or even toss things about to make themselves known. Think of it this way – if you were trying to get someone to listen to you or notice you and they kept ignoring you, wouldn’t you start making a lot of noise, too? I think you would!

I’m not saying that there aren’t malevolent or negative spirits and other entities out there, because there are. They just aren’t as prevalent as people think they are. It’s oftentimes just our fear that fuels a very simple encounter and fear of the unknown that stands our hair on edge; not a malevolent spirit. Love never dies, so if one wouldn’t be afraid of their grandmother in life, why should they fear her in death. In the majority of cases, if one handles spirits with the same respect and compassion they would any living person, they’ll be just fine. But if that doesn’t work – and it’s rare it doesn’t in my experience – then they should get some assistance or possibly just quit playing with it and call upon their Higher Power to take care of the issue.

I could go on about this for pages and pages. These are my thoughts in a nutshell, with many points not having been touched on, but if I spoke about them all here, we’d have another book.

Thank you for this opportunity. I’ve enjoyed it immensely.

Take care, travel safely on your journey, and I bid you Peace.
Mariah de la Croix