Spirit Sisters - the podcast

Inside the Secret Life of Fairies

Karina Machado interviews author and lifelong spiritual seeker Maggie Hamilton, who’s joining us to share the story behind her new non-fiction book, Inside the Secret Life of Fairies, published by Hay House. 

Maggie has a wealth of spiritual wisdom to share. She spent her early years immersed in Nature, then fell into working in book publishing. Now she writes books and for magazines; gives frequent talks; and is keen observer of social trends. Her books, have been published in Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Italy, China, Lithuania, Korea, the Arab States and Brazil. Nature is her ‘go to’ place, while living in the inner city. Maggie's new book Inside the Secret Life of Fairies is her love song to Nature and all the secrets it has gifted her. Passionate about life, creativity and beauty, Maggie loves finding the extraordinary within the ordinary.

Enjoy my uplifting and heart-expanding conversation with Maggie, who shares a lifetime of insights about the natural world and the spirit world, all of which is more valuable than ever in these unsettling times.

Connect with my guest Maggie Hamilton:

www.maggiehamilton.org  @maggiewhispers + www.secretlifeoffairies.wordpress.com

Connect with Karina Machado at the new and updated karinamachado.com

Buy the 10th anniversary edition of Spirit Sisters as a paperback at Booktopia.

Buy the e-book of the 10th anniversary edition of Spirit at Kobo.

Buy the audio book of the original Spirit Sisters (narrated by me) at Audible.

"I didn't want to believe this was real"

Meet Lisa, a teacher from outback Queensland who reports having strange experiences from the age of 2. That doesn't mean she's accepted them. In fact, "I've always been a bit of a skeptic," says Lisa, who shares her lifetime of encounters with me on this week's show. Listen in as Lisa tells us about the "peaceful" recurring dream - a possible past life? - she began having as a toddler, and the stunning moment when the spirit of a young woman who died tragically appeared to Lisa pleading for help. It was this encounter that deeply troubled Lisa and propelled her to seek - and receive - a medical diagnosis. Yet the experiences continued...

 

Keep in touch with Karina Machado at karinamachado.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Order the 10th anniversary edition of Spirit Sisters, available now!

Listen to Karina's other podcast about true-life spooky stories, The Ghost Files.

A Conversation with Jesus - Part 2

I’m thrilled to present part two of Pauline’s extraordinary life story. If you haven’t listened to part one, I encourage you to scroll down and press play on that one first, so that you can hear Pauline share the details of the near-death experiences she had at age 7, and then, 11, the latter encompassing an amazingly in-depth and transformative encounter with Jesus.

In part two, Pauline, a counsellor and artist from Adelaide, picks up the story after waking up from her NDE at age 11. She tells us about what life was like after that, and about the spiritually-transformative experience she had at age 33. There’s so much in this episode, including Pauline’s most recent NDE, following a traumatic experience in 2015, and how that led to what she calls her year of grace. Stay tuned to the end as Pauline shares her insights into the benefits of spiritual practice for mental health, and her incredibly valuable insights into the importance of healing our own inner wounds if we want to be of service to others.

Quick reminder, also, that the 10^th anniversary edition of Spirit Sisters, my book that inspired this podcast, is now widely available. If you pick up a copy, drop me a line to let me know what you think.  

Follow my guest, Pauline, on Instagram here.

Keep in touch with Karina Machado at karinamachado.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Order the 10th anniversary edition of Spirit Sisters, available now!

Listen to Karina's other podcast about true-life spooky stories, The Ghost Files.

A Conversation With Jesus

When Pauline had a near-death experience after a fall at the age of 11, her spirit left her body and rose high up into the air – she even remembers feeling how “freezing cold” the clouds were. “I had this self-awareness that all of the layers of anxiety are gone, everything’s gone, and I’m just my pure self,” recalls Pauline, today a counsellor and artist living in Adelaide, Australia.

Next came “the bliss of the light,” as Pauline describes it. But the otherworldly experience was only beginning for Pauline, who soon found herself face to face with a smiling young man who radiated love she knew to be Jesus. Mesmerised by this being who “looked like a hippie,” as Pauline puts it, she listened, entranced, as he shared his gentle wisdom with her:

“He explained the oneness to me, that everyone was equal in his eyes.”

“It’s about focus – if you look through loving eyes, you can create a beautiful life.”

“He told me plainly that everyone is given life to learn to love – and that includes ourselves.”

 There is much, much more, as you’ll hear in the first instalment of this special two-part interview with Pauline. I am so thrilled to share this episode with you! Enjoy the show.

 

Keep in touch with Karina at karinamachado.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Order the 10th anniversary edition of Spirit Sisters, available now!

Listen to Karina's other podcast about true-life spooky stories, The Ghost Files.

Leonie Evans Died Three Times

"I would have this little troop of ghost children that would play hide-and-seek with me ... they were all dressed in their Sunday best. I remember the little boy - his shorts would be ironed to a razor-sharp crease - and the ribbons in the hair of the girls."

This episode, we have the pleasure of welcoming an original "Spirit Sister," Leonie Evans, whose story features in my book. Leonie is one of those unsung mediums in our midst who so fascinate me. With no fanfare let alone a big pay cheque, Leonie is one of these women with a startling ability to see beyond the veil, as her quote above attests.

In Leonie’s case, a near-death experience at the age of five may have enhanced mediumship skills that had been apparent since she was at least 3. You’re about to hear about that and much, much more, as Leonie joins us from her home in Sydney’s west to reflect on a lifetime of encounters with the spirit world.

Keep in touch with Karina at karinamachado.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Pre-order the updated edition of Spirit Sisters, available February 2020!

Listen to Karina's other podcast about true-life spooky stories, The Ghost Files.

"I am within you, and without you, Mum."

The day her son died his mother, Laura, wild with grief, ran to the place where he drew his last breath and shouted to the sky, "Alex, if there is a life after death, I will find you!" That tragic day in 2007, launched my guest, Melbourne artist and author Laura Tomei, on a profound journey of spiritual awakening, triggered by the abundant signs her beautiful 18-year-old boy sends her almost every day.

Laura is passionate about spreading the message that love never dies, as you'll find out in our conversation, which is in parts heartbreaking and uplifting, as Laura gifts us with story upon story about the ways Alex, her only child, shows her he is still alive, albeit in some other place. "I am with you, and without you, Mum," he poetically told her, in one mystical meeting...

As Laura tells me, "We have to learn a new vocabulary between our world and their world."

Enjoy the episode, and please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast. Thank you.

 

Get in touch with my guest, Laura Tomei, at her website.

Keep in touch with Karina at karinamachado.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Pre-order the updated edition of Spirit Sisters, available February 2020!

Listen to Karina's other podcast about true-life spooky stories, The Ghost Files.

Healed by Mother Mary

Today's episode of Spirit Sisters features two of the most important figures in the Christmas story. You'll be stunned when you hear who appeared in my guest's bedroom one night, and how that visit transformed her life. Laura Neeson reached out to me with the generous intention of sharing that astoundingly beautiful encounter - the pinnacle of her lifetime of extraordinary experiences - because she wants to pass on her powerful message of hope and healing to everyone. 

Fittingly, for a story as miraculous as this one, something wonderful happened as we recorded the interview, which you'll hear about in the course of the episode. This was the first time something like this had ever happened during a recording, and the shock in my voice says it all ...

I treasure this conversation with Laura, which reminds us of the healing power of sharing our stories, and about the ways we’re transformed when we decide to acknowledge our ever-present connection with a force greater than ourselves. We could call that force the creative, life-affirming power of Love.

Enjoy this amazing story of despair, of finding faith and hope, of a pilgrimage and an extraordinary encounter one night when all hope seemed lost.

 

Keep in touch with Karina at karinamachado.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Pre-order the updated edition of Spirit Sisters, available February 2020!

Listen to Karina's other podcast about true-life spooky stories, The Ghost Files.

Fairies, frights and ghosts galore - a gifted Scotswoman's haunted life

Scottish-born, and with a lifetime of mysterious experiences behind her, Faye Young says clairvoyance runs in her family and that, being of Celtic descent, she has always considered her mediumship to be an everyday part of life.

Faye, who lives on Australia's Sunshine Coast, studied English Literature at the University of Queensland before giving that up to become a full-time carer for her mother. Today, she is busy writing a book about her lifetime of enchanting, moving and, yes, occasionally terrifying, experiences. From a childhood brush with fairies to living in haunted houses around the world, and the healing visit from her mum Faye calls “the main experience of my life,” listeners are in for a treat.

I hope you enjoy getting to know Faye as much as I have. And remember, if you love Spirit Sisters, please rate, review and subscribe to help spread the word. 

Potto Hall, where Faye lived with her "house ghost," Mr Strickland, on the estate's servant quarters.

Keep in touch with Karina at karinamachado.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Pre-order the updated edition of Spirit Sisters, available February 2020!

Listen to Karina's other podcast about true-life spooky stories, The Ghost Files.

"What I do to you, I do to myself" - what mystical experiences teach us

Researching my books, I found that, broadly speaking, there were two kinds of interviewees, those who’d had one, key unforgettable experience, and those who'd had a lifetime of encounters. My guest this week, Emily Rodavich, is one of the latter. In our conversation, we discuss her books, Mystical Interludes and Mystical Interludes II, as well as the childhood event that ignited Emily’s fear of death, the life-transforming near-death experience she had at age 18, and the astonishing spontaneous past-life vision that took Emily back hundreds of years to a lifetime as a dancer in Siam, now Thailand. Plus, much more.

Emily also shares a very moving story about the three steps to forgiveness that she learnt following a very painful chapter of her childhood. At the end, she also shares the key lessons that can help us all lead more loving and fulfilling lives, lessons she’s gathered from her lifetime of mystical experiences, so be sure to stay for that.

Explore Emily's website.

Buy Mystical Interludes and Mystical Interludes II

Karinamachado.com

Join Karina on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Listen to Karina's other podcast bout true spooky encounters, The Ghost Files.

 

 

 

"It doesn't end when we take our last breath" - a heart specialist's NDE Part 2

Karina Machado presents part two of her conversation with Sara, an Australian Cardiac Diagnostic Specialist whose near-death experience last year radically transformed her life and her understanding of what her purpose is on this earth. Since recording this interview, Sara's been dedicating her time to the formal study of meditation and mindfulness practices, and will attend Harvard University’s Mind Body Institute this month to gain further accreditation.

In this episode, you’ll hear about some of the after-effects of Sara’s NDE, her new understanding of the “intrinsic” role spirituality plays in our overall health and her insights into suffering and how for her it’s been a wonderful teacher. She tells me about her ongoing connection with her late father, Jack, and how 3 weeks after Sara’s NDE he also visited his granddaughter in a dream visitation bearing important information about Sara’s rare auto-immune disorder.

Sara also shares an astonishing story about a dream visitation she had prior to her NDE, when her brother-in-law who died in tragic circumstances came to her with a message for her twin sister. Sara has some very moving insights to share at the end, when she sums up the most important lessons she learnt during her NDE, so please stick around for those. Enjoy the uplifting conclusion of Karina's conversation with Sara, which picks up with Karina asking her about the book that was shown to her during the NDE, a book she now knows destined to write.

Visit Karina's website.

Join Karina on Facebook and Instagram.

Listen to Karina's other podcast about true spooky encounters, The Ghost Files.