Atheist becomes Psychic Medium: Ray Catania

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Welcome to the Alchemy of Ascension podcast. I'm your host, Washayla Sananda. And today I have a brand new guest first timer on the Alchemy of Ascension, Ray Catania. Welcome, Ray.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me, Washayla. I appreciate it.

Yeah, I'm excited to have you here. I recently discovered your work and I read your first book, and I find you really fascinating, and I think the Alchemy of Ascension audience will as well. So for starters, let me just read a little bit, a condensed bio of what you're up to, and then we'll jump in. Ray Catania is an acclaimed author, metaphysical teacher, theorist, and coach. Ray is an NDE experiencer, an ordained minister with master certifications in life coaching, reiki and meditation. Currently pursuing his doctorate degree in metaphysical parapsychology. Ray combines his extensive formal education with wisdom gained from studying with intuitives, mediums, shaman and energy healers, and the author of two books. So, yeah, we have a lot to dive into. And one of the things I can't help but notice just in reading that and in reading your first book is how you. You seem to have this voracious appetite for.

I really do. I sure do.

Yeah. Many spiritual people do, and especially when we're first waking up, but you keep just kind of adding to it and you're go, so you're going for your PhD in metaphysical parapsychology. That sounds fascinating. How is that adding to what you, you know, all of the knowledge that you've already gained?

Well, there was a point where, you know, I had met my second mentor, and that was when things really started to open up for me because he taught so much. I mean, not just about. He was primarily my medium teacher, but in addition to that, he was teaching us about manifestation and just the overall connection with the collective. And there was so much that he was teaching me, and I just wanted more, more, more. And I found a college. I found two colleges that had a track for metaphysics. One was Stanford, and that would be a lot of money, and I don't think they would have me anyway, so I opted for the University of Sedona, and I did the whole program, bachelor's, master's, and now I'm completing my PhD. And it really took. It helped me take science and spirituality and try to bring them together. Because there is an aspect to metaphysics where that does happen often. There's a lot of studies from. We study Carl Jung. We just. We also studied Freud. And then, of course, you have the. The Spiritual side. So it was a lot of psychology and parapsychology. So I chose to also look into physics and find the components, or the ingredients, if you will, of what makes spirituality work. In other words, how does the law of attraction work from a physical perspective, not just a spiritual one? And that is what really drove me because I was my own worst, biggest skeptic. My whole life. I was rejecting everything that was being sent my way. And so I had to learn in order to overcome my own skepticism.

Yeah, well, as we all do, right, when we're, when we're opening up to the possibility of metaphysical gifts. So I, this was. I did have the intention of bringing this up later, but since you already addressed it, there's something really juicy in there that you just said, and that is about how do we utilize basically the, the law of attraction in a physical way. I know myself, I've done many, many years of exploring, like Neville Goddard, and I'm an avid student of Dr. Joe Dispenza and many others. And it's still, you know, like, I, I think I have some mastery of being able to manifest. And, and I know how, I know the how tos, but it's still a little bit of a hit or miss sometimes. So I'd love to hear your take on that. What can someone do in order to improve their ability to manifest in the ph.

Sure. So it's based on what Tesla told us. The secrets to the universe, energy, frequency, and vibration. Right. So when we're manifesting something, ultimately what we're trying to do is bring a visualization and turn that visualization into a vibration to send out to find its, like, vibration. How does that work? So if I am trying to manifest, I don't know, let's. Let's say it's money. Okay. I would say something to the effect of I want an abundance of money or I want in. In one case, a real case, I needed $10,000 for my son's college. And I think there's a little bit of that story in the book. And it was very urgent that I, that I got that 10,000. It was a big mistake. At the last minute, he was about to leave for college, and I got a call from the college and they said, hey, Ray, you gonna send us the 10,000? I was like, I forgot to send you 10,000. So I just started to use the technique exactly the way I was taught in a meditative state. And I said, I need $10,000 and I need it now. And what I'm doing is I'M taking the visualization of I, which is the self, and the visualization of $10,000 the way it appears to me. And I'm converting that to a vibration, and I'm sending that out because the universe speaks vibration, not English. So we have to trans that. And then we send it out like a beacon, like a satellite, and we allow it to find its match. And I was in a big rush to acquire this 10,000. So I did it. We were supposed. We were taught to do it twice a day, morning and evening. I did it all day long, like six times a day on the first day. And my other son brought me the mail. And I looked through the mail and I saw all these bills, and it was like, bill after bill. And one was for my accountant. And I was like, oh, my God, am I saying this wrong? Am I doing this wrong? And I threw the mail aside and I. And I did it again, you know, and I said, I need 10,000. I need it now. It's for my son for college. I need 10,000 and I need it now. And I did it the next day, and again, nothing came. So I was a little frustrated, and I went to open the mail and I started going through it, and there was bill after bill, and then there was that letter from my accountant. And I had done my taxes and submitted everything to him. So I opened that up and it was the same. It reads the same the way it reads every year. The first letter, dear Ray, thank you so much for using our services. You owe us X amount of dollars. Okay, Put that one aside. The next one I took out said, dear Ray, you've overpaid the federal government 8200 and something something dollars and something something cents. Overpaid. That's a refund. I've never gotten a refund. I always owe every year. So I put that letter down and I took out the next one and said, dear Ray, you've overpaid the state of New Jersey 1,800 and something something dollars and something cents. 10,000. It was there on the first day, and I wept like a child and never questioned it again.

So powerful. And that the wheels were already working, to have you receive that in the mail that day is amazing.

Amazing.

Yeah. I like the way that you're putting it to frequency. And so for somebody that hears this and says, okay, I love that concept. I need a new car, for instance, or I need a car that works to drive. How does. Maybe a more logical thinking person. Not that you're not, but.

I'm definitely Not. That's okay.

How does, how do we look at translating a car that drives to a frequency?

Well, it's by using something I call visualization. Now when we do visualization, it's not just visual. You use all your senses, all your five physical senses, and you bring them up into your six. Okay. And so you experience the car. And of course your affirmation is going to be something like, I need a new car and I need it now. And I believe in being very firm. You know, everybody has told us you're a part of God and God is a part of you. Whether you want to refer to it as God is, or the collective or whatever term you wish to use, you're a part of that, and that is a part of you. So therefore that you are co creator of this universe, you are not less than you are equal to. So let me get back to your question. I need a new car and I need it now. You're going to visualize yourself in the car. Smell the new car smell. What does it feel like to touch the steering wheel? What does it feel like to drive it? Use all the senses. Turn the radio on. What does it sound like? What does the engine sound like? So you're using all those different senses and you're combining it together into one visualization. And when you do that, you, you send out that particular frequency. You're changing the visualization to a frequency and it's going to find its match and it's going to bring it to you. And if it doesn't bring it directly to you, it's going to show you how to get it. And it happens in, you know, especially with new people. I see it in like 15, 20 days. They say allow 90 days for this to come to fruition. But with the newer folks, it happens really quickly.

Interesting. Yeah, I love that. And so, you know, for me, I can say frequency has a feeling aspect to it, a vibration, a vibrational aspect to it. So to get in touch with that, what is that? Feel that. And interesting to me that you're using the word need. I need $10,000 versus I know a lot of the teachers teachings out there are that you would, you would never say need because it's, it's pointing the finger at I don't have it. You know, and you would, you would. A lot of the teachings say you would say I have $10,000 now or now I have. What is your thought on that?

My thought on that is there's a couple different ways. And what works for you is what you should go with I need, I want, I must have, and thank you. You can use a series of them. Sometimes I use three. So I'm I need, I want and thank you at the same time, as though I've already have it. But I have found that not being ambiguous, being very definitive and saying, this is what I need and this is when I need it, and this is exactly what I need. It comes, and that's what's always worked. But if it works better for you in a different capacity by saying different terminology, that's fine. Because again, it's all about sending out the vibration, sending out the frequency, allowing it to find its match and come back. I do not believe in doing pretty please because that leaves room for it not to happen. But if you say I need it and I need it now, it's coming as long as you visualize it. As long as you don't say something like, I don't want to be in debt anymore. Because what you're doing there is you're sending the visual of I and the visual of debt. And what's coming to you is the debt, not the opposite. Because it doesn't understand. I don't want and only understands what you're sending out. So you have to be very careful that you phrase it properly. But if you wish to say it in the past tense, that's fine, too. It's the visualization that's going out. It's not those little words in between.

Right, right. And then also ending with the gratitude, thank you. Because you're affirming that you've already received it.

And I start with an attitude of gratitude first, too, to get myself into that positive state. And also I'm thanking the universe for the things that I've already been given that I asked for last time.

Yeah, yeah. That's like one of the foundational things that is so important to remember. I know when I'm writing bills or paying for something that maybe I didn't really want to have to pay for, to remember to do it with gratitude. Thank you. Because what I've received from this has value, some value for myself or someone else in my life. So to always approach all financial interactions with gratitude will bring that energy back to you.

Absolutely. And thank you for giving me the ability to pay for this. You know, a lot of times we say things like, oh, I gotta drive the kids to school. No, you get to drive your kids to school. I have to make dinner. No, you get to make dinner. You have food in the fridge. There's People that have no food, that have no children. So it's always a matter of how we say things. Thought patterns and speech patterns will determine how your life turns out.

Yeah, absolutely. That I get to really shifts the energy because you're going from. I have to. Is kind of victimized. I get to. Is like, yay, I get to do this.

Exactly, yeah.

Gratitude. Again, gratitude, which always brings the frequency up.

I get to take out the trash.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm fortunate to have so much abundance.

That's right. Exactly. See, there's. It's all in the perspective and how you look at it.

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, I love that. I love how we kind of just jumped right in there. So you are new to most. Most of the people in the audience, I'm. I'm guessing. And so I'd love to backtrack a little bit now and go into sort of your. A little bit of your story of how you got to this place where you are now coming from. And I know from. Read your book in your background you were an atheist. I think your book is called, what is it?

The Atheist and the Afterlife.

Atheist and the Afterlife, Yes. So you didn't believe in all this stuff. This was probably just silly woo woo to you. Before this all began, what happened in your life to shift you from where you were to where you are now?

So I guess we have to preface that by saying that my. I grew up in a Christian home or a Catholic home, and it was rebelling against my parents that I chose to go all the way to the opposite and choose atheism. And it came from an unhappy childhood, one that was tumultuous. A lot of drama, trauma, violence. You know, I would hide in spaces like closets under the bed or in the yard or the basement and wait for everything to end before I would come out. So I spent a lot of time by myself with no phones. We didn't have computers yet. We didn't have any, you know, toys like that or anything to occupy our time. So it would just be me staring at a wall. And ultimately what I'm doing is I'm going into a meditative trance and I'm trying to leave where I am because I don't want to be exposed to what's happening. And this is something that I find is very common amongst people who find that they have abilities. I believe we all have them, but they seem to be. They seem to come out in the folks that start out with these traumas. And it's because we're trying to Separate ourselves from the unfortunate set of circumstances that we're in. So my parents could have been any religion, I would have rebelled against it. And I also didn't believe how could there be this loving God, the way I was taught it, that would allow these things to happen. I was a child, like, what, what did I do? You know, like, what could I have possibly done wrong? So I just rejected it across the board and said, this is, you know, this is not real. And I remember being a young child and, and doing this, you know, basically meditation, six hours a day, seven days a week, just hiding. And I started to be able to see things like not just the wall, but what the wall is made out of. The energy behind the wall, not the paint, not the fact that it's white or gray or whatever color it is. You strip away the man made stuff and you start to actually be able to see the energy. That meant nothing to me at the time. Right. It wasn't until much later when I had my nde, that this started to mean something. And you know, I'll tell you the quick, the nde, the short version is that I was still living at home with my parents. I was 20 years old and I was. My bedroom was on the second floor and right beneath the bedroom was the kitchen. The stove ran on natural gas and there was a gas leak. So the gas is leaking and rising into my room all night and I'm inhaling it. By morning, my mother gets up to turn the stove on to make breakfast or what have you and it just kind of blows up into this ball of flames. It catches the wall on fire and there's smoke. And the way I understand the story, my father was able to put it out quickly. It wasn't a big fire or anything, but there was the gas that was leaking all night that I was inhaling all night long. So I hear the fire trucks, I hear the police cars, and I go to get out of bed and I can't move. I find that from the waist down, my legs feel like they're a thousand pounds. My head, I can't get it off the pillow. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just know something's really wrong. And so I'm trying to pull myself to the edge of the bed because my arms are like, what, what I'm limited to. And I'm pulling myself and I get to the edge and I tumble out and I hit myself face first on the ground. The thump is what alerts everybody. Oh my God. Ray's still up there. But here's the strange thing about hitting the floor. As soon as I hit it, I knew I hit it because I hit a face first. But there was no pain at all. This was strange, but here's why. That was the moment I wasn't in that body anymore. And I was in the corner of the room. It was a square room. And I was in the corner of the room looking down on my lifeless body. This didn't scare me at all. And I don't know why, but it did not scare me because it felt great. It felt euphoric. Everything was crystal clear, everything was more vivid. Of course, adjacent for me in the opposite corner is a huge cone shaped white light. That is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. And it's because of the way it's making me feel. It comes with love, it comes with this energy, it comes with painlessness, it comes with all those feelings that are undescribable. They're just. Euphoria is the best word I can come up with. And I was one with that light. And it wasn't shining on my dead self. It was shining on me, the energetic self. And I proceeded to go into the light because at the end of the light there was a being and he or she said it was safe to come into the light. So I believed. And that's unusual for me because I didn't really trust anyone. But it felt like the right thing to do because as I got into the light a little bit further, the euphoria would increase and I go a little bit more and increased even more. But here's what happened. My father bursted through the door and he scooped me up and he was yelling and screaming for the paramedics. And he got very emotional and he was crying. I can't recall my father hugging me, crying over me, expressing anything like that in my life. So I wanted that, that, and when I saw that, I wanted to go back and be a part of that and have that. And I thought if I went back that I would have that. So I asked the being if I could go back. And I said something to the effect of I don't think I can leave him like that. I was like negotiating, making it about him. And I don't know why I was given the opportunity, but I did come back. And then when I woke up, I was no longer there. I was on the living room floor and the paramedics were on top of me with their tools and doing their. Whatever paramedics do And I woke up, and I was like, I felt great because I still had that energy flowing through me, that euphoria. And I'm like, guys, I'm fine. I'm fine. And they're like, you're not fine. And I'm like, no, no. Did you see the light? Did you hear the voice? And they're looking at each other like, you know. And I was like, okay, here we go. They think I'm nuts or I'm on drugs and I'm going to wind up in the wrong hospital, so I'm just going to shut up right now. And that's what I did. And they took me to the hospitals, released the next day. And we didn't have a computer that I could just go to and look up to see what happened to me. And when I tried to tell anybody I was crazy. That's not real. Even my own mother denied that it ever happened. And I get that now today, because if I lost my son on my watch, I would probably block it out as though it never happened. Also, it wasn't until, like, last year when she read the book, that she acknowledged and told me things that I didn't even know about. How many times I had to be resuscitated. I thought it was once. It was actually three or four work, so it was worse than I thought it was. And I think it helped her heal, and it helped me heal at the same time. My father's no longer with us, but I forgave them, you know, both for everything. And I learned so much from that. But immediately following that, when I told people and I was told I was crazy, I boxed it up and I put it away. And I didn't think of it as an nde. I just thought of it as well. I probably fell in front of a window, and it was a sunny day, and the white light was the sun, and I was inhaling fumes for so long that I was high, and I was hallucinating the voice and everything else, and I just chalked it up to that. And I went about my life and continued with atheism.

Yeah. Yeah. It's funny how. How it's possible for us to try and explain away the things we don't understand and then try to go on as if nothing ever happened. But it doesn't really pan out that way, does it?

Certainly did not. It was about a year later, I moved out of my house and I got my first apartment. It was my bachelor pad. And I was all excited because I was like, okay, this is Going to be great. You know, we're going to parties all the time. And from the moment I moved into that apartment thing, my life was just different. I went into that apartment and it felt like it was filled with people and there was nobody there. I crossed over. I'm a kid that could see energy. Didn't know what to make of it, but I could see it now. I crossed over and came back. It's almost like a doorway was opened and I just. The other side came back with me. The room was filled. It was like energy was everywhere. It was almost like walking through a crowded space, but there's nobody there. But you feel them. Like you actually feel. You feel like you're being watched. You feel like you're. You feel their energy pushed up against you. And I would see lines flying across the room and I would see little swirlies out of my eyes. And now I think I'm really crazy. I think I'm losing my mind because I have no other concept of what this could possibly be. So what do I do at the age of 21, 22? I drink and I drink and I drink and I use drugs because that's the only way I can go to sleep. And this becomes habitual over the next couple of years. And I moved out of that apartment. I moved into the next apartment thinking it would be different. And it was exactly the same. So these places weren't haunted, nor did I believe in that. Anyway. I just thought, I gotta get out of here. I'm losing my mind. I went into another place and the exact same thing happened all over again. So more alcohol, more drugs, Putting myself in places where I could be killed. I tried to up the ante, to see how close to death I could get. It was just a very. It was a time of self sabotage. It was a time of, you know, not caring about whether I lived or died. It was very depressing and confusing time in my life. Either I'm crazy or I am. I don't know what I am, but insanity. I understand. So I'm believing that that's what this is. And the only way I can turn it off is alcohol and drugs. And that's the way it goes for about the next eight or nine years until I get married and have my own kids. And they changed me. They. They changed me because when I was. I held them in my arms. I had two sons a year apart. And now I had a reason to live because they were counting on me and they needed me to be alive. So I can't put myself in those horrible situations anymore. I can't work for shady characters and do the things that I was doing, pushing things to the limits. So I went to rehab and checked myself in, just gave him the keys to my car and said, don't let me out. And then I went back to college and I completed my degree and I got a real job, and I worked my way up the ladder, and the marriage fell apart really quickly. But of course, I still had the kids, and they were the most important thing to me because I was not going to raise them the way I was raised. I was not going to let them see the alcoholism I saw. They were going to have a better life than I had, and I did that, and I did that even though these strange things were happening around me. I learned to just adapt and let it be. And I didn't talk about it, and I didn't tell anybody about it, and I just let it be for a very long time. When my kids got older, I decided that I was going to date again. And I had had some, you know, dates before, but this was the time when I felt they were old enough that I could introduce them to another woman and they wouldn't, you know, be angry or whatever. So I go online and I'm. That's how we meet people, right? We go online and I'm going through the different websites and I. They give you some examples to try to get you to take out your credit card and. And join the site. And I saw this one woman and I knew. I knew. I knew her. I knew she was my wife. I knew she was a part of me. It was so strong and so powerful, whatever drew me to her. So I took out my credit card and I joined that site. And I sent one email only to her, and it read something like, hi, I'm Ray. You don't really know me, but you're my wife, and I hope to get to know you better. Please, you know, contact me. And she, of course, thought it. I. I did it in a funnier way than that, and I actually put it in the book, but she thought I was nuts and got back to me with a lot of LOLs. You're crazy. Who are you? And we got to know each other, and sure enough, you know, we did get married. Still are married. There's no question she's my soulmate. And I'll tell you why. When we first started dating, up until that time, everything that I saw was an energy form, right? I had never seen energy in the shape or a form of A human being, or what looked like a human being to me. And after I met her, things changed. I started to feel vibrations differently in my body. And what I call a movie screen would open up in my mind. And on that movie screen was what I thought or what looked like to be a man. And this man is a big guy, and he had a beard and a mustache, thick black hair. And he said to me, I effed up. I made a mistake. You can help her. I cannot. I have no idea who the man is. I have no idea why I'm seeing him. Never seen him before in my life. And I don't understand what he's talking about. Now I think I'm really losing my mind. This occurred on a Friday, and I was working. I was very successful at my day job. I was the vice president of a company. And I'm seeing people that aren't there. So now I feel like my insanity has reached a new level. And I have to start preparing for my demise, my death. I make sure I have a will. I make sure I have a dnr, because I'm not coming back. I'm going into the light. And I set up everything so that I'm prepared to end my life. And now I have to tell this woman that I just met, whom I'm in love with. And I. And I just know we're meant to be together. But I have to tell her I'm insane. I have to. She has a right to know this. And if all this isn't crazy enough, she is by trade a doctor of psychology and a doctor of neuropsychology, pediatric. So I'm going to tell a doctor of psychology that I see people that are not there. And this is probably not going to go over well, but I think it. I think like this, at least she'll point me in the right direction to get the help I need. Because clearly, I need help. And the man appears to me more and more and more and more frequently and more frequently to the point where I can't function. I can't drive. I can't carry a conversation. I can't. I really can't do anything without seeing him right in front of me. So the started on a Friday. By Sunday, it was like every 10 minutes. And this is where I can't function. And I remember that the last moment, I was at a counter, and I was paying for this stuff. And the lady behind the counter stops. I don't know what I did. And she said to me, sir, are you okay? And I said, no. No, I'm really not. And I took my credit card back and I went back to the car, and I just sat there with my head down, and I. I planned what I was going to do. And it was that night that I told her. And I said, I have to tell you something. I see, I get these visions, and I don't know what to make of it. And it's a guy and it's movie screen, and I tell the whole thing. And she goes, that sounds like my dad. And I was like, what do you mean it sounds like your dad? Well, tell me what he looked like again. I said, big, stocky guy, you know, beard, mustache. She goes, sounds like my dad. And I said, but your dad's dead. She goes, I know. And I said, you're crazy. I need. I'm thinking I need to get out of here. What is she talking about? He's dead. And. But it was. That's when you really know you meet your soulmate, is when she says, you know, something to that. She's open to the fact that I don't even know what mediumship is, but she's telling me, you're probably a psychic medium and you don't know it. And I said, what the hell is a psychic medium? And she said, listen, relax. My dad comes through like that all the time. I go to mediums and I see them, and he always comes through exactly the way you just described. And I said, but I saw the picture of your dad that you have in your home on the mantel, and it looks nothing like that guy. And she said, well, that's a very old picture. And she went through her phone, found a picture just before he died and showed it to me. And I was like, oh, my God, you know that guy? And she goes, that's my dad. And that in that moment, I felt. Felt free, but I also felt scared. And she said, there's a medium that's very prominent. She's coming to our area. Why don't I set up an appointment for you and her to meet, and you guys can sit down and share notes and you can decide or, you know, if. What you want to do with this. And I was like, sure, sounds like a plan. And I do. I meet with her. And I'll never forget the conversation because I walked in and I said, hi, I'm Ray. And she goes, oh, you're that Ray. And I was like, I guess so. And I sat down, she goes, what can I do for you, Ray? And I said, well, I'm insane. I see People that aren't there. She goes, ha, ha ha. So do I. Let's talk about it. How do you see it? I said, well, first I get the vibrations and then I see lines across the room. And then eventually the buildup and then it. A movie screen, what looks like a screen in my mind, it's opens up. And then she goes, stop. I said, what? She said, that's the way I see it too. And I was like a huge just sigh of relief came out of me. But I also don't understand what am I obligated to do with this now? Like, who am I, what am I, and what am I supposed to do? So there was this relief factor, but it was something unknown that I didn't understand at all. And it goes against everything that I've ever believed, but it makes sense, but so does insanity. So I'm caught between this, but I follow her advice and she takes me under her wing for about a year, and she teaches me how to turn it on, how to turn it off. And she basically saved my life. And something she shared with me was that when she was young and she was having these visions and she told somebody she was actually hospitalized for being schizophrenic, and she was not, obviously she was a medium. And then I felt like I found somebody who understood me because I was told I was crazy I whole life. And here was this other person who understood me, and that was a game changer, to say the least.

Yeah. How fortunate that you had the right people in your life to be able to point you in the right direction. And I know many people don't have that. So if I can ask you this for somebody that is maybe just starting to feel like. Like seeing those, they're seeing things that maybe aren't there. Shadows or the streamers or lights or whatever, you know, the shadow people. What would. What advice would you give someone that is maybe starting to have those experiences but like, you didn't know what to do with it or didn't want it or didn't believe it or thought they were crazy? How would you guide a person?

Find a mentor right away. Find a mentor. Find somebody that you can trust that you can open up with and sit with and. And you may visit a psychologist first who might tell you you're, you know, there is something wrong with you. Hopefully they will not, and you will not believe that, but you must see someone in the spir field, get that second opinion, get one from them, and then make your own decision. Find a mentor. Because when you Find that person, and that person guides you in the right direction. It will change your life, to say the least. I mean, so many years of doubt, so many years of guilt, so many years of hurt, so many years of pain. And for me, I was nearly 50 years old at this time, so the first half of my life I basically wasted. I could have done so much more.

But it happens at the right time, nevertheless, because then you wouldn't have had all of those other experiences, right?

That's very true. Very true.

Yeah, it is like my story's kind of reverse of that in some ways. I had visitations from very, very, very young age from all different types of beings. Not human, usually, but I was told by these beings not to tell the adults because they wouldn't understand. And so I didn't speak about it to the adults until I was an adult. But by that time I had found. And I was. I was raised in a small town in Iowa, Lutheran family, and. And certainly didn't have any mentors there, you know, at that time. And then when was old enough, I stumbled upon a metaphysical bookstore when I. In my teens and started, I just filled up a bag because I didn't even know, you know, because like you said, we were raised when there was no Internet. We didn't have the cell phones to look it up. So I found a metaphysical bookstore on a family vacation, and I felt like I struck gold. And I came out with about 20 books and. And enough reading material to really get me excited, because that's the first moment I realized I'm not the only one. These things are happening too. But I grew up, you know, being informed. I went to nature. I. I didn't have a mentor, but nature was my mentor. And I just needed to be able to feel and expand and feel the energies and see what I saw. And, you know, we have those experiences. I thought I might be crazy, but I don't need to let anybody know, you know, so I know that's a common, kind of a common theme. People don't know what to do with it.

You don't know what to do with it. And you know what? I also had this huge calling to be in nature, and I did not know where that was coming from. And that occurred when I had that mentor. It was coming up on my birthday, and my wife says, what do you want to do for your birthday? And I said, I don't care where we go, just as long as there's millions of trees. And, you know, we could just have a little cottage and an Outhouse for all I care. I just need the nature and the trees and have no idea why. And I. There's something about being in that environment that's so pure and so natural that allows us to be ourselves and be natural and be the energy beings that we are. And that was a magical experience because we spent the weekend meditating. But she had also taken out an illustration. She pulled it out of her bag. My wife was. And, and I said that's him, that's your dad. And she goes, I know. And I said, but, but you. What you don't know is that's exactly the way I see him with, with that shirt and everything. And she's like, that's the Christmas shirt. It was a joke because he was a construction worker and had like two nice shirts and he broke them out on Christmas. And so when he appeared to me, he appeared wearing that shirt. And I said, so who drew that? And she said immediately him. I said, now I wish I could draw because that's the way I would draw him. So someone else saw him exactly the way I did, wearing the same shirt. That's validation. I said, who is this man? I have, I have to find him. And sure enough, we looked him up on the Internet and there he was. And there said, now accepting applications for a two year mentorship program. You must submit your application by February 15th. That's my birthday. And she says, are you going to submit the application? I said yes. That's not universal intervention. I don't know what is. Now I'm a full blown believer at this point.

Yeah, yeah, I know in your book you, you talked a lot about doubting yourself and your gifts and that that was a constant theme that eventually you had to, you had to overcome. Do you have any advice for people that are in doubt and maybe have gifts but they're afraid or they feel like they'll be judged or they just doubt that they're real.

Yeah. I mean if you don't know of a mentor or a medium or a spiritual person that's in your area, like you did, you went you bookstore with books and then you can look up the authors and then try to get in touch with them. You need to find like minded people so you can compare notes. That's the most important thing. Because the rest of the world is unfortunately not ready for this and they're not prepared for it. Some wish to be and others it's just easier to remain unconscious and go through life the way that, that it's planned or they think it's planned for them. So you really have to go above and beyond to find someone that you can speak to, that you can relate to, that can give you some guidance and some advice and some knowing that at teaching you how to really deal with it. Because you know what my second mentor taught me? He said, you know, a lot of people, they don't find a mentor and they wind up. Up going crazy. They didn't start out crazy, but it drives them crazy. And I get that because that's where I was headed. If I didn't figure out who this man was. Right. I would have. Eventually, that would have broken me. I wouldn't have been able to function. So I found the right people at the right time, or someone gave me the right people at the right time.

Yeah. Yeah. And these things really need to be shared. I think the. These gifts, my feeling on it is they're not for us. If you have spiritual gifts, which we all do, they're for others, they're for the world. They're for, you know, sharing. So to keep it bottled up can be really destructive.

Yeah, very good point. It is for others. It is to guide other people. And that is the whole reason that we go through the things that we go through, or at least I believe firmly that the traumas that I experienced were the best, biggest blessings of my life, because what I learned from those things is what put me where I am today. And it enabled me to write books that people could relate to who are having these feelings. And it enables me to speak to people who are having these feelings, and they're confused about, is this real or isn't this real? And I wouldn't. I would never be this person had I not experienced the worst days of my life. So I'm grateful for the worst days of my life.

Yeah, Beautiful. With that, I'd love to shift a little bit into ascension, which is a huge topic of this podcast. I know you had some. What it. Let me just look at four principles. Four principles of Ascension. Ascension. Would you be willing to share one or all of them with us and tell us about what that is?

Yeah, I mean, so the principles of Ascension came out of a. I was trying to think of. I used the Buddha as my example. I. I guess I would say. And, you know, the very. The very first. First principle of ascension is changing your relationship with death. Okay. It's that you're going to die, and the acceptance of that fact that you are going to die, but it's not going to be the end, and it changes your perception of life when you accept that death is not an end all and it's not something that you have to dread and fear. And you know, there were so many studies done with folks that were in hospice and they, and they were in, you know, they knew that their days were numbered and their outlook on life changed. Like they all, they were looking forward to doing things that they wanted to do do. And in a sense, like shouldn't we all live that way? Shouldn't we all live like we know that we have an expiration date and do the things that we want to do and help the people that we want to help, if that's what our goals are, you know, and it shouldn't be something that you know, changes your, the way you're kind to others, but it should be something that you become a part of. In other words, become a part of changing others lives. It's, it's part of the oneness that we all are a part of. And I think that changing the relationship of death is one of the most important things that we can possibly do when it comes to ascension. And, and then the second one is set yourself free. And that is removing the ego or that narrator that's in your head. Set yourself free from those beliefs that were instilled upon you when you were very young, between the ages of 2 and 7. We adopt what other people tell us is what life is supposed to be or what happiness is supposed to be, what it's supposed to look like. And you know, we take this on as our own and we live our lives in that direction. And the people that come to me the most are the ones who have this picture perfect life. A great job, 2.2 kids, a beautiful house and a great salary. And they're like, but I'm not happy. And I said, well, whose version of happiness are you actually living? Is it one that was given to you or is it one that really resonated with you and you have to start to chip away at the ego, which is the narrator, that little voice inside your head that tells you what you should do, what you shouldn't do, what you can do and what you can't do. And it takes a while to work on that, but it can, can, it can be done. It takes a while, but it can be done. And when it is done, you will lose a lot of the negative emotions that you once had, that you once felt. And that leads us right to the next one which is good and bad is a choice. So what is good and what is bad? Shakespeare in Hamlet said nothing is either good nor bad, but thinking makes it so. So now we're relying on that ego to tell us what is good and what is bad. Instead of going to our awareness, which is our highest level of consciousness and going to what we call our God mind in college and asking that higher self for that advice. And when you decide that nothing is bad, like I just told you, my worst days were actually my best days. They weren't my worst days. They were the days that I shine. Those were the days that they developed my character. They made me like who I am today. So are they bad or are they good? Only you can choose that. And the last one is you are God. And Jesus told us and there's a version of this in every single religion. And I think they all have. All religions have things that are good and religions have things that are bad. But they all tell us you're a part of God and God is a part of you. And if that's true, you are a co creator of this universe. You are a part of that oneness and you can create your own life and you can help others with the ability to create. And we have to remember that we all come from this one source. And to hurt your fellow man or woman is to hurt yourself. And acknowledging that you're in control of your life and you have the ability to help everybody else is the tip of the iceberg, if you will. That is the fourth principle. You are God. And I think it's the combination of those. When I realized that that it changed my life and brought me to a higher level of consciousness.

Wow. Thank you for sharing all of that, Ray. Time is flying here and I want to make sure that people know how to find you. What is the best way to make contact with you and your material?

My website is Ray Katanya.com and you can find more information about coaching, classes, the books and everything else is on that website. And I thank you for, for allowing me to say that. I appreciate it.

Yeah, absolutely. I'm happy to share. And the links for. For Ray's website will also be in the show notes. So be sure and check that. Ray, any final thoughts before we close?

I just want to thank you so much for allowing me to be here. You know, it means a lot to me and I hope listeners enjoyed it. And remember you're God. So, so go out and make a difference with that. Help people change work, change the world, change your world and then it will change others. And I just, I'll end it on that note.

Thank you indeed. Thank you, Ray. That was really beautiful. I think this will be helpful to many and thank you to all the listeners and viewers. I appreciate you and we'll see you on the next episode. Namaste.