Karina Machado speaks to near-death experiencer Yvonne Sneeden.

Yvonne hails from Belgium and ives in North Carolina, where she works in IT. She’s had two near-death experiences, but the one she’s sharing today is “the big one,” as she calls it. In 2008, Yvonne was diagnosed with arrhythmia during an extremely stressful stage of her life. As a single mother living in a new country, she was working herself to the bone to provide for her daughter and she was utterly depleted. An involuntary overdose of powerful medication she’d been prescribed to treat the arrhythmia propelled Yvonne into an exquisite Light. 

Listen in as Yvonne shares the healing moments that ensued - for she WAS healed, in body and spirit - in her own beautiful words. 

Once you’ve listened to Yvonne tell her story you’ll know why I purposefully sought her out to be my final guest of the year. I wanted a story that could transport, uplift, soothe and encourage. A story to remind us all, at the close of another challenging year, of what really matters. As Yvonne says, in that magnificent light, “I had no fear, no anxiety, no anger, no frustration. I was just basking in that everlasting light.”

I want to say a huge thank you to all of you for tuning in to Spirit Sisters this year. I’ll be back in 2022 to share more heart-lifting conversations about mysteries and marvels. In the meantime, enjoy a safe and happy festive season with your loved ones. May your time together be full of peace, joy and unconditional love.

Connect with Yvonne at her website; www.liveheaven-now.com 

Yvonne’s all-French YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcjKubKQGvOT0-A-YXgz9YQ

The documentary Yvonne co-produced, Back From The Light, is available here.

Click here for a beautiful NDE Journey Meditation, The World Beyond, which Yvonne put together for the 2020 International IANDS Conference.

Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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

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You’re listening to Spirit Sisters, I’m your host, Karina Machado. I have such a wonderful conversation to share with you today, but before we launch into that, quick shout to thank all of you who’ve taken a moment to leave a review and rate the show. That really helps people find their way to the show, and as I know from the beautiful emails and Facebook messages I receive from listeners, the stories that we share here can make a profound difference to someone’s grieving journey.

My guest today is Arizona-based medium and mother of three Michelle Clare. A decade ago, Michelle suffered a traumatic brain injury. A couple of months later, while recovering, she noticed her ability to commune with Spirit, which she’d had since childhood, had dramatically increased. She received an unexpected life-changing message for her son. Soon after, she began receiving life-altering messages for other people from loved ones who had transitioned, and an exciting journey began to unfold for her.

We talk about all of that today, not to mention Michelle’s three near-death experiences, which she shares with us in fascinating detail. The accident which left Michelle with a head injury was actually her third and most transformative NDE. Michelle has learnt a lot from her NDEs and decades of spirit communication… there’s so much wisdom in the stories she humbly shares. Enjoy my conversation with Michelle Clare.

Visit Michelle Clare at her website https://www.michelleclare.net/

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Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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

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Karina Machado welcomes veteran Hollywood producer Stephen Simon, whose body of film-making includes Smokey and the Bandit, The Goodbye Girl, All the Right Moves, Somewhere in Time, and the Oscar-winning What Dreams May Come, starring Robin Williams.

For 16 years, Stephen also ran the Spiritual Cinema Circle, dedicated to distributing spiritual films to a global audience in over 70 countries, and he’s also the producer and director of the film version of Conversations With God, based on Neale Donald Walsch’s best-selling book series.

Stephen is joining me on the show today to share a profound message about hope and the indestructibility of love. On January 3, 2018, his lovely wife Lauren passed away in her sleep, aged only 54. It wasn’t long before Lauren began to communicate with Stephen, and in October 2018 they began to write a book together. It’s called What Dreams Have Come and it’s a stark and beautiful testament to the truth that love never dies.

I want to thank my friend and fellow podcast host KAren Swain for introducing me to Stephen, who shares his story with such an open heart and enthusiasm to remind anyone whose loved ones have crossed to know that, “after life, there is more,” to quote the ad line for his beloved 1998 movie, What Dreams May Come.

In our conversation, we discuss all the amazing parallels between Stephen’s key films, Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve, and What Dreams May Come - both of which focussed on enduring love between a couple on opposite sides of the veil – and his and Lauren’s own love story. You’re about to hear how his movies played a crucial part in making certain that Stephen and Lauren found each other.

Theirs is such a beautiful love story, no doubt worthy of the silver screen. I’m so honoured that Stephen shared it with us today in a broad-ranging conversation that also touched on the dazzling days of the golden age of Hollywood cinema, Stephen’s early memories of seeing his father’s spirit, his mind-blowing first communication from Lauren after her transition, the life-changing advice his good friend Neale Donald Walsch gave him when Stephen was in the depths of grief, and the powerful sense of life purpose that drives him ever onward. There’s much more – wait til you hear who Stephen’s Godfather is!

Lastly, please note that our conversation touches on themes about suicide. If you need support, call Lifeline in Australia on 13 11 14, or seek out services in your country.

Contact Stephen and buy the book he cowrote with his wife Lauren, What Dreams Have Come, here.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also enjoy this conversation I had with Jorge Golvano about his enduring bond with his wife, Ana.

Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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

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Welcome to Spirit Sisters.

My guest today is Jo Buchanan. Jo is the author of The Final Mystery, a memoir that explores the notion that we all have agency to create a life that’s aligned with our soul purpose. Jo, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, is a wise and warm soul with an illustrious spiritual heritage. In 1927, her father, Les Danby, joined a mediumship circle led by a quietly spoken fellow called Stan Walsh. The astonishing phenomena Les witnessed led him to write a book called The Certainty of Eternity. In our conversation, Jo shares more about being born into the understanding that consciousness survives death, and tells us about the incredible collection of apports she inherited from her father.

Before we get into it, here’s a bit more about Jo: in the 1960s, she worked as a primary school teacher in Melbourne and Sydney schools until she married jazz musician Tony Buchanan and had children, Miles, Beth and Simone Buchanan. All three are actors who became familiar faces on Australian television.

For fifteen years, Jo worked on film and television sets as chaperone and schoolteacher to child actors.

These are the spiritual adventures we’re about to dive into, as Jo looks back on these sacred journeys and shares her life-changing spiritual experiences. Get ready for some wonderful stories, including an unforgettable encounter with the White Buffalo Calf Woman, a sacred figure for the Lakota people. Jo is a fascinating lady and it was such an honour to speak with her. I want to thank the Spirit Sisters listener who suggested I interview Jo. If there’s someone you’d love me to interview on the show, please drop me a line at the links below. For now, enjoy my conversation with Jo Buchanan.

Buy Jo’s memoir The Final Mystery at her publisher's website 

Buy Jo’s memoir on Amazon 

Learn more about and buy The Certainty of Eternity, written by Jo’s Father, Les Danby 

Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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

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Welcome to Spirit Sisters, with Karina Machado.

My guest today is intuitive and angel communicator, Kayt Raymond. Kayt studied piano, clarinet, voice and choral conducting at the Conservatorium in Newcastle, Australia, and later on scholarship at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. It was here that she met Jean, a spiritual mentor who revealed that angels had told her about Kayt’s arrival a year earlier. Jean even showed Kayt the page in her spiritual journal where she’d documented the message. All a hint, perhaps, that the angels had great plans in store for the young Australian musician.

Kayt went on to work as a corporate executive and later as a consultant based in Sydney.

In 1996, Kayt met a group of Angels and her life was transformed. They invited her to connect with them and paint them. Though not an artist she began to paint with these beings and was taught how to commune and co-create with them as colleagues and friends.

It’s such a fascinating story – a musician turned corporate high-flyer who accepts the Angels’ invitation, even if it means having to start from scratch learning how to paint as well as somehow making this new calling fit in with her everyday life.

Enjoy my conversation with Kayt Raymond. At the end, Kayt shares a beautiful message from the angels that she received just for us. It’s very special.

Connect with Kayt at her website

Follow Kayt on Instagram at @kaytraymond 

Follow Kayt on Facebook at @kaytraymondofficial

Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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

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It’s a joy to have you back for part two of my conversation with mystic, spiritual reader and counsellor María Lupita Gurulé, on the phone from New Mexico.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to listen to part one, please scroll down to Episode 53 so that you can hear all about María Lupita’s remarkable near-death experience that transformed her life in the year 2000. 

Today, María Lupita shares candidly about the after-effects of her NDE, including the first three very difficult years that followed it, her post-natal depression, sense of disorientation and the burgeoning psychic gifts which pointed the way to a new beginning.

She also reminds us that “every single one of us is intuitive” and shares simple practices to help us reconnect with ourselves. María Lupita also tells us about her beautiful shared-death experience with her mother, and reveals the heartfelt story of her profound lifelong connection to Mexico’s Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Towards the end, we discuss the importance of integrating and loving our shadow and why self-love is a crucial aspect of the Golden Rule. Plus, so much more.

Subscribe to María Lupita’s YouTube channel

Learn more about María Lupita at her website

Join María Lupita on Facebook 

Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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I'm excited to present part one of my conversation with near-death experiencer María Lupita Gurulé, on the phone from New Mexico, USA.

María Lupita is a mother of two young adults, ages 23 and 21. Both her pregnancies were life-threatening for mother and child. Birthing her first-born 10 weeks early, María Lupita had an out-of-body experience that sparked several miraculous events. Then two and a half years later, on June 5, 2000, on the day her second child was born, María Lupita died from complications of anaesthesia before surgery and was revived. 

It's estimated that she was out for approximately 8 minutes "here", but it was as though she spent a lifetime on the other side. She returned, yet all of life as she knew it was different. In this episode, you’re going to hear about her NDE in exquisite detail, everything from the “golden” presence whose love and beauty is impossible to convey, the flame of fire in the Blessed Mother’s heart that María Lupita understood was the God centre of the omniverse, the major revelation in her life review and the “Pool of Liquid Light” she was immersed in to heal afterward, and so much more. At the end, María Lupita tells us about “The Grand Experiment” which is life, and the purpose of it.

More than two decades have passed since her near-death experience, but only now does she finally feel ready to share with others what was shown and told to her on the other side. 

Today, María Lupita has dedicated her life and energy to healing the Soul to help others create their best life. She is a T-Trainer for Stanford University's Self-Management Education Programs; holds certifications in a multitude of healing techniques and modalities, as well as in the arts of interpersonal communication, dispute mediation and medical-support hypnotherapy.  María Lupita also has eight years of training, initiations and apprenticeship in shamanic healing. She describes herself as a mystic, a spiritual reader and counsellor.

Learn more about María Lupita at her website 

Join Maria Lupita on Facebook 

Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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

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Before I launch into this week’s episode, quick reminder that if you love Spirit Sisters, it would be wonderful if you could write a review and leave a five-star rating, this will ensure that others who may need to hear the stories of wonder, hope and healing we share here will find their way to the show.

Now, this week is the conclusion of my conversation with Shayne Wallace, whose story I first told in my book Spirit Sisters more than a decade ago. Shayne’s son Jamie tragically died at age 16 in 2007. If you haven’t listened to part one, please scroll down to episode 50 and listen to that first.

Today, in part two, Shayne takes us full circle, sharing more about the ways Jamie lets her and his loved ones know he’s with them, the way he’s taken on a “guardian” role for his family, including the day he saved Shayne from a terrifying would-be carjacker, that’s a cracker of a story, and, powerfully, Shayne talks candidly about the journey of healing she’s been on since losing her boy.

Our conversation embraces what Shayne’s learned about self-forgiveness, the importance of being kinder to herself and what she’s come to understand about the pivotal role Jamie’s passing played in leading her to break the pattern of inter-generational trauma that had poisoned her family tree.

Stick around until the end as Shayne, who’s considering becoming a grief counsellor, offers hard-learnt, heartfelt, words of wisdom for parents grieving the loss of a child.

Enjoy my conversation with the generous, humble and insightful Shayne Wallace.

Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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

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Today’s episode marks episode 50 of Spirit Sisters the Podcast, and I’m happy to say I have the perfect guest to mark the milestone. Shayne Wallace, who lives with her family in Perth, WA, is one of the original voices from Spirit Sisters, the book.

On the frigid night of June 1, 2007, beneath a full moon, mother-of-three Shayne’s eldest son, Jamie, 16, was killed in a motorbike accident. It’s what happened in the hours that followed that makes Shayne’s story one of the most unforgettable in my body of work.

Shayne’s story is heartbreaking, moving and tragic, yet ultimately uplifting, and it’s very gratifying for me to know that it’s only through interviewing Shayne again for this podcast, 12 years after the book’s release, that I was able to discover this last piece of her story – the piece about growth, healing and the altering of ancestral patterns.

Shayne and I had so much to catch up on that we recorded two episodes. I’m honoured to present part one today of my reunion with Shayne, whose story featured in a chapter in Spirit Sisters called The Fiercest Loss. I named it that because I was so inspired by my conversations with these courageous mothers who’d survived the unbearable. And yet, while their pain is fierce, fiercer yet is their enduring love.

Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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

Connect with Karina on Facebook.

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Today’s episode is a beautiful reminder of our interconnectedness, of bonds that can never be broken and of the ultimate indestructibility of love.  

My guest today is Texas-based lawyer MaryAnn Jones. MaryAnn grew up in a bi-cultural family – her mum is an immigrant from Costa Rica and her dad is American with Italian, Swedish, and Anglo ancestry. MaryAnn says her mum's side “is the typical Latin family with lots of family parties where everyone dances and speaking of God and the supernatural was something that occurred in almost every conversation,” which is something I personally relate to. I present that as background to the story MaryAnn is sharing with us today, which hinges a lot on how her Catholic faith anchored her in the midst of deepest grief.

MaryAnn and her husband, Timothy, are the parents of two beautiful daughters, Arya and Sapphire. Tragically, Sapphire, who struggled with depression and anxiety, passed away at the age of 19 in 2017. Today, you’re going to hear MaryAnn speak very candidly about the devastating loss of Sapphire, and about how leaning on her Catholic faith sustained her during the hardest moments.

Amidst the pain, there were signs from Sapphire and amazing synchronicities, and MaryAnn talks all about these in our conversation. One moment in particular stands out: a couple of months after Sapphire’s death, something happened as the family gathered in their backyard to bury their beloved dog, Sparky. What took place defies rational explanation, and to MaryAnn, this precious event was a clear message from Sapphire that not only was she well and happy, but that she had Sparky with her, safe and sound.

Keep an eye on my Facebook and Instagram pages, as I’ll be posting a picture of one of these miraculous feathers, as well as gorgeous pics of Sapphire and her family. MaryAnn has also sent me a very moving video that Arya put together to honour her sister’s birthday on June 15. It features Sapphire singing and is something very, very special, and I’m honoured to be able to share it with you.

Please note that this episode references self-harm and suicide. If you are struggling with your mental health, please contact Lifeline in Australia on 13 11 14, and if you’re outside of Australia please do seek out support services in your area.

Enjoy my conversation with MaryAnn Jones, sharing the story of how her lovely daughter, Sapphire, returned to her family on wings of love.

Connect with Karina Machado at 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 Sisters at Kobo.

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

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