notepads – the ideas came thick and fast, sometimes so fast that she could hardly get pen to paper in time. She would often relay messages from the spirit world in her writings, understanding all that they had to say and putting it down as it was spoken to her. Automatic writing often occurred at any time of day or night – when messages are passed through from spirit you have to act upon them, even if you are in the bath! This she did, never denying a channel of thought from spirit to herself.
She always wrote from her heart. The most overwhelming time was during the September 11th tragedy. Without Betty realising it, she foresaw this tragedy happening. She had channelled automatic writings, even drawings of planes colliding in mid-air, smoke, bodies, in fact all the images that you would have seen on the television screen. Betty would say, ‘These images I am getting are unbelievable.’ Though none of us knew what it meant, she actually saw it all before it happened! That is how utterly amazing she was as a clairvoyant.
I would arrive at Betty’s house in Sussex where she lived and worked, ready for my day’s work ahead. Even before I could get in the front door she would say, ‘Janet come into the living room – I’ve got another masterpiece to read to you. I wrote it last night.’ I would stand with bated breath as I knew how her heart and soul had gone into these poems. As she read each piece of work to me, the tears would often well up in my eyes as they were so beautiful, funny, sad or true to everyday life that we all experience. ‘What do you think?’ she would ask. ‘Fantastic,’ was always my reply, because they truly were. Her eyes would light up and we would then put all these writings into a special folder knowing that one day someone somewhere would read them. It was always her dream to have them published or the lyrics recorded, as she truly believed that, like all her books, these special writings would move the hearts and souls of her public. I believe they will too, and that is why I was determined to have them shown to the world as a very last tribute to Betty’s tremendous courage through a very difficult 18 months. These writings kept her determination and pure mental and physical strength going when all was against her, and without the hope of the afterlife Betty would have never coped with her physical ailments on earth. She fought to the bitter end and made me so proud of her.
I will never forget her grabbing my hand every day when I arrived for work, that warm, chunky, healing hand, so full of love and energy. She would not let go until she had told me all her news! Even now when I sit quietly I can feel that hand in mine. Betty was passionate about life on earth and life beyond, and I hope that by reading this book you will be able to share in the same passion that she had.
JANET SHINE
December 2002
This poem really says it all. Betty’s whole life was about communicating with people, spirits, plants and animals. She loved writing, and her ideas would flow like crystal-clear water. With pen to paper, she produced the most amazing work. Each page of every book is filled with wisdom, insight, hope and understanding, stemming from her own life’s experiences. Her main goal was to bring simplicity to the subjects of healing, mediumship and spirituality, and this she achieved with great success – even hardened sceptics were convinced of a world beyond. Such was her nature, Betty gave of herself and her knowledge without want of anything in return. Throughout her life she stayed true to her beliefs, writing with no fear of ridicule, which often took tremendous courage. The titles and covers of every one of her books were most important to Betty as she felt that her energy would impart itself to those who held and read each book, which indeed it did to millions of readers. The books Betty wrote were ‘the books of her life’, and what a truly amazing life it was!
In the pages of my book,
You’ll find mystery and love,
Emotions that are bared
And tragedies shared
It’s all there.
It has taken a lifetime
To write all the words,
But what is a lifetime
If at last you are heard?
The giving and forgiving
Are the most important lines,
For when you get to the end
There’s no time to pretend.
You’ll find the characters inside
Weren’t saints all the time,
But maybe you’ll discover
Within the cover
Inspirational lines.
The book, it’s not a work of art,
But the words inside
Describe chapters of my life
That taught me how to survive.
It has taken a lifetime
To write all the words
But what is a lifetime
If at last they are heard?
And I hope within the cover
You’ll discover
Inspirational lines
That will teach you how to survive.
How many times have we told our children, ‘At the end of the rainbow you will find a pot of gold’? This image captures the imagination and encourages us to strive for success. Many think that success is measured in material wealth, others think it is achieved by finding God, but Betty classed her pot of gold as knowledge in all things. The more knowledge we gain, the more understanding of life we have and the more we can help others.
Knowing ourselves is the first step. We all have two sides to our nature and sometimes that can be hard to face, but knowing this fact enables us to become more positive about ourselves and change if need be. A pot of gold is found only through pure hard work and determination, and for that you have to have courage.
I am a dreamer,
Who walks the corridors of light
That gives me life.
The mirrors that I see
Show other sides of me
And tell me who and what I am.
This truth is hard to take
But it brings a kind of ecstasy
In the knowledge that it brings.
We’re told we must never go
‘Where angels fear to tread’.
But in my dreams, I took that path
And found a pot of gold
That others hadn’t dared to hold.
I had a choice, to take it in my hands
And walk away, or take a simple scroll
Which held the mysteries and the vibes
That the ‘ancients’ had withheld
And had guarded with their lives.
The choice was mine and mine alone.
I do not know what choice I made
For in an instant I was wide awake.
But I do not have material things