Last month I returned from Southern Africa. I went back home to visit my father for the first time in years, to visit my old home and say goodbye to my friends. My other hope was to unravel the ways of Empathy, in Africa, or a third world country. These are some of my observations;

 I had my Tarot cards with me the whole trip, from South Africa to Mozambique and through Botswana, and used them faithfully to get out of dangerous situations. I tested food, people, choices, and learnt timing with cards ( as timing points are crucial in travel through Africa ) and I was pleased to note, that the cards responded intimately and immediately to my questions, and were very good in guiding us through the maze of difficult situations during travel. I believe the cards are a muse that make me more confident in my reading abilities, and they would respond easily and directly to some very important questions, as I needed my intuitive abilities to navigate through the country.

 I can assure you, through other blogs that I will be writing, that empathy is extremely active on this continent, if not more so, for very important reasons. When in a  dangerous situation, with no cell reception, no road signs and no email and little more than an idea of what direction one is going in, one’s perception is heightened.

 I had many experiences where empathy and telepathy were well applied. Much of this was about communication. When I had friendly encounters with the locals, we were able to communicate well, even when 75% of our cross cultural language skills were missing. It seemed, when we *wanted* to communicate, that we could do so. One evening in  particular, I sat with a friend, and under the darkness of the Mozambique night, and I gave  this person a full Tarot reading, and he understood the reading well – it applied to him, and he understood the lesson. He even wrote me a month later requesting another reading…:)

I have found the empathic experiences I had were strongest in the rural areas. This is in part due to the lack of external stimuli we are usually bombarded with in the north. Even though I found most of Africa was wired for cell and internet use ( even in the middle of the bush ) there was little in terms of what we call ‘entertainment’, and as such, the people would bond more in family and friend groups, and these people were extremely good at telepathy.

 One big lesson I have learnt, is that to travel through Africa wearing sunglasses even if required, is not a good idea when encountering people. Whether for meeting corrupt border officials, or when encountering police blocks on the roads – from dealing with local food sellers, to making friends – the sunglasses needed to be off. It seems that it is essential that people have to look into each other’s eyes to ascertain intent. Intent is the vehicle towards survival.

I reminded my father and travelling compantion along the journey, to remove their eyewear, at each checkpoint, and in looking directly into a person’s eyes, we seemed to get through to them easily. It was all about ascertaining whether we were people who had vulnerabilities, or something to hide. In this manner, I became adept at reading eyes, and was able to decide who to trust, and who not to. This stood us in very good stead, and possibly helped us on our way.

I would deduct that this journey taught me the importance of empathy in a third world. The good people, stick together, to avoid the bad people. This was observed throughout many different regions.  Possibly, unknowingly, these people employ empathic techniques in order to survive. I was most impressed with their ease of transference, as though it was a way so natural to them, it had no words, nor needed any.

 This is an introduction to my 5 week journey through the continent, from east to west, where I gained immense confidence in my abilities. There were moments I was mislead, possibly due to immediate survival concerns or panic, but still, almost every turn we took, and every person we met, guided us to our destination. It was as if I knew instinctively who to trust, and who not to.

This was indeed a very interesting journey into the unknown, and I will be happy to share more of this with you all...

In Gratitude,

Carmen Miro Copyright 2008