Measles, Angels and Ayahuasca

Measles, Angels and Ayahuasca

I was reading the newspaper at the weekend about how the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine is causing controversy in the USA. For years here in the UK many people held (and some may still hold) the opinion that the vaccine can bring on autism in children. There’s been a lot of scientific research and it seems that the scientific community has seen enough evidence that it is now not only debunking the idea, but also has stricken off one of the main medical supporters of the original anti MMR campaign. This doctor has now moved to the USA and has started a new anti MMR campaign over there. This isn’t a post for or against MMR, that’s a choice each parent has to make and I’m no judge.

It’s an article about measles. More specifically my experiences of having measles when I was 6 years old.

I had a raging fever for a number of days and the doctors were quite worried about me. My Dad did nightshift work at the time so my mum brought me in to sleep with her so she could keep a closer eye on me. Even though I had a raging temperature and was extremely sick, 44 years on I can still remember it as if it was yesterday. It was Summer and on that very week roadworks were set up right outside our house. Each morning at about 9am the pneumatic drill would start up and as it was so warm, and I had a fever, the windows were all open. The drill was outside our house but it felt like it was inside my head. It sounded so loud. I was sweating, delirious, and this didn’t help at all. The workmen could do nothing about it really. They couldn’t stop their work because of a sick child.

The Doctor came regularly. Doctor Mathers was his name. I still remember the sound of the door ringing, and his jovial voice saying hello to my Mum, then footsteps on the stairs and there he was asking how I was feeling today. That went on for quite some time.

Then one night something happened.

My Mum remembers it well too. She was asleep and felt that I wasn’t laying down in bed. She looked over at me and I was sitting bolt upright, staring at the end of the bed.

“Lie down David, get some sleep,” she said.

“Can’t you see him Mum?” I replied.

My Mum looked in the direction I was staring. Nothing there other than the darkness of night. Shadows, The house silent.

“See what? There’s nothing there. Come on lie down.”

“There is Mum. Look. Standing at the end of the bed. Who is that?” I asked.

My Mum was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable but asked, “What does he look like?”

I looked on into the dark. “He’s tall. He’s got a hat. His hands are together. His eyes are closed and he’s praying.”

I was smiling. I remember that I wasn’t scared at all. It felt completely normal. I just laid back down and went to sleep. My Mum had more trouble relaxing that night.

I obviously recovered from the measles. It was a horrible experience and not one I would wish on any child, but that moment stayed with me. Was I hallucinating? I guess I certainly could have been. I had a temperature of 106 at points during that illness. But years later when our family went on our first overseas holiday to Canada something else happened.

We went to see Ottawa Cathedral and while we were there my parents lost me. One moment I was there, the next I was nowhere to be seen. They split up and began to search for me. I have to say that I remember most of that holiday, but none of what happened while I was lost. My parents tell me that they found me standing and staring up at one of the huge stained glass windows. I was totally still, almost in a trance state. It took a while for me to notice that they were with me, calling my name. apparently I just looked at my Mum, pointed at the window, and said, “That’s him. That’s who was standing at the bottom of the bed.” It was four years later and I was now ten years old. As I say I don’t remember this at all and I’ve sometimes looked on the internet to try to find that window, to find that figure, but of course there are loads of them, and maybe that isn’t meant to be.

Did I see my Guardian Angel? I’ve felt him at other times during my life. The day my eldest son was born and we nearly lost him was one time. There have been others. It’s easy to dismiss our experiences while we are ill and have a fever. But like the experiences of Ayahuasca, a drug that many view as a doorway to Spirit, and the other psychedelics that Shamans use around thew world, can we really be sure that these altered states are simply tricks of the mind or do they allow us to see what is always there around us, like Ultra Violet and other colours our eyes cannot see?

I know what I think.

8 responses to “Measles, Angels and Ayahuasca”

  1. I can totally relate to the experience, having had one very similar as a 5 year old suffering from measles. Everybody was concerned for me. The doctor telling mum he was going to hospitalise me due to possibe complications from the disease. The vision told me that I was going to be alright and the spot began to appear within a half hour of the vision.

  2. Soooo pleased to read your post, now I know that I’m not the only one to see this figure. He was very tall, long black coat/cloak and wore a large brimmed black hat. Nothing like you would expect a guardian angel to look like. ?
    Bright Blessings.

  3. Strange thing that measles. Yes, during measles I sat up and there was a little girl at the end of my bed, but she ran away when I noticed her and stared for awhile.

    My father had an amazing family album that went back through my family on his side to before their were photographs. The first entries were early 18th century illustrations. My mother passed on when I was 4 years old. In that photo album was her as a child, amazing it got there as the album was not her side of the family. That was the girl I saw.

    That beautiful family album was not passed to me or any family, for reasons I will not bother wish. I only have two photos of my mother given to me by an aunt, one of her wedding day and the other as a child on a beach making a sand castle.

    As for Guardian Angel, I had that one during a stroke and have shared that one here before. It’s presence gave me a total re-valueing of megalythic sites, ley lines, trees and water spring. I live with the trees and the water now and not the rest.

    Good of you to post your story Damh

  4. Whoa…great story. I don’t think I had measles, chicken pox yes. I’ve been tempted to try Ayahuasca as I know some people who take it regularly and think it’s brilliant stuff, but I haven’t the nerve (yet). Thank you for posting this amongst finishing your album. /|\

  5. I think altered states help us become aware of what is always there, though not in a form we can usually see. A bit like the radio waves which are all around us, but only audible when tuned into a particular channel. Interesting post, Damh.

  6. I remember having measles too; my three sisters and I came down with it at about the same time. Here in Australia (when I was a child) it was considered an annoying but necessary part of growing up. We all had three days off school (my youngest sister had a whole week) and we had minimal fevers, but very light sensitive eyes. Apparently the strain of measles we had in our area then was very mild and I have often wondered why science bothered to make a vaccine for such an innocuous disease.
    As for seeing your guardian; what a wonderful experience. I have no doubt you will see him again.

  7. I had measles mumps and chicken pox within 6 months when I was 5 years old. Fortunately for me, my bout was not as severe as yours. But the other points about that which we perceive are interesting. I read an interesting book about a theory called “Biocentrism” In it the author theorised that instead of the Universe and the conciousness being a duality, it is in fact one i.e. life creates the universe and not the other way round. In essence he is saying that the universe exists only because we have a conciousness to perceive it, that’s why it is so “Goldilocks” for life to exist. So by that account, if your conciousness changes – by whatever method, fever or drugs or the discipline of Magcik – then so does the universe. I wonder if that was what Crowley meant when he described Magick as “The Art of causing change in conformity with the will”?

  8. Thanks for telling us about your experiences Damh your gentleman with the wide brimmed hat sounds like a spirit guide. Love the pics of Oscar 🙂

Leave a Reply to Odhran Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.