Spirit Sisters - the podcast

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

Karina Machado speaks with Sara, a cardiac diagnostic specialist and mother of three from the Southern Highlands of NSW whose life was forever changed by a near-death experience in late 2018. But immense suffering preceded her NDE - which wasn’t her first, though it was the most powerful - and in part one of our two-part conversation, Sara shares her story publicly for the first time. 

In part one, you'll hear about her first NDE and the events that led to her being diagnosed with the rare auto-immune disorder Behcet’s Disease, and how that led to her second NDE, in which she met her beloved mentor and father (himself a renowned cardiologist). Sara also relates the profound impact of her life review and the lessons it carried about the power of choice. “Do we turn to love every moment?” asks Sara.  “We are here to look after and serve one another in love, through love and with love.” 

Karina's website.

Join Karina on Facebook and Instagram.

Listen in, as Karina catches up with retired French translator Micheline, whose unforgettable story appeared in her 2009 book, Spirit Sisters. In November 1963, Micheline was working as a nanny in London. One night, she had the most disturbing dream of her life. It so troubled her that she mentioned it to her employer, and then described it in a birthday card she was posting to her mother in Paris. A few days later, as her mum was reading her daughter's birthday wishes, news broke that the President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. Micheline's dream had come true, exactly as she saw it, except for one key detail...

karinamachado.com

Join Karina on Facebook and Instagram.

My guest today, coming to us from beautiful Forster on the NSW coast, is Deb Carr, whose stories of communication from her late brother, Gary, appear throughout my book Love Never Dies. Deb, a single mother of two who publishes the popular Sydney Chic blog, grew up in New Zealand with her three brothers. A shadow fell across their world when Gary was 10, as Deb is about to share with us. What happened to the little boy plunged him into depression and led, eventually, to his decision to take his own life at the age of 34 in 1998. Deb was inconsolable and it was only her experience of hearing from him a few days later that stopped Deb from succumbing to despair. Please note that this episode references sexual abuse and suicide.

If you or anyone you know is struggling , please call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14.

Deb's blogs: 

Sydney Chic

The Jasmine in the Forest

Join Karina on Instagram and Facebook.

This week, Karina Machado speaks to Alison, a psychologist from NSW who has some fascinating experiences to share about .

Alison has worked in the health industry for more than 25 years. Initially starting out as a herbalist in private practice and then moving into the field of psychology, working as a counselling psychologist for 10 years. Alison is a qualified Gestalt Therapist and currently works as a business mentor for women studying their MBA. A mother of four adult children, Alison is a calm, sensitive and intelligent woman who now works with her husband developing storytelling videos.

Alison tells me that her spiritual experiences have absolutely enriched her life. I know that listening to them enriched mine too, I especially marvelled at a mystical moment of connection that saw her experience a range of lives - one of them, not even human - across a wide gamut of time frames and environments. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like this so listen out for that.

Resources Alison mentions:

Stan Groff, psychiatrist and author who developed Holotropic Breathwork

Edgar Cayce, late US clairvoyant and mystic