In a 1927 publication, Steps to Self-Mastery, S. R. Parchment says:
“When the pupil is ready, the Master appears” is an old Theosophical statement, and I have been able on several occasions to prove its truthfulness.
On an overcast, cool day last summer, I was busy working in my office when B walked in. I was already feeling stressed so I had been sucking on Rescue Remedy Pastilles (chewable lozenge) for most of the morning. He wanted to void something in the system and asked for instructions. I felt fear and desperation. I thought it was coming from me and had no idea why, which triggered my fight or flight panic mode. As I tried to calmly list the steps to fix the problem B would angrily second guess my answers. This wasn't like him at all. My heart was racing and my chest hurt.
I had had this pain happen before. It always turned out to be a panic attack but I still feared that it could be something wrong with my heart. It's amazing what runs through your head at a moment like that. I had lousy health insurance with a hugh deductible. I had already been to the emergency room three times with the same symptoms. The hospital probably had a poster of me in admitting. Warning! She's really not as bad off as she thinks she is. I hate causing scenes and there was no way that I intended to perish in that stuffy, windowless office of mine.
What did I do in this perdicament, you ask? I did what any self-respecting person would do. I went home sick. Better to die in my apartment surrounded by familar, charished possessions. Too bad everyone I loved was either busy, at work or on a play date. It would have been nice to have someone to share my disquiet with.
As I drove toward home, I remembered that Terri, my acupuncturist, had mentioned the calming benefits of lavender essential oil. This led to a quandary. Where would I find this oil? It occurred to me that there was a shop in Chester that might actually have it. I continued to take calming breaths as I accelerated.
When I walked into The Art of the Heart (Here) that afternoon, there was a kind looking woman standing behind the counter, clearly feeling the ill effects of the high pollen count. I proceeded to tell her what I was looking for and why without taking a breath. Somewhere in the middle of my little speech it occurred to me that my heart was no longer racing. The anxiety was slowly starting to dissipate. I was mortified. She must have thought I was nuts.
I took a long nap when I got home with a bag filled with dried lavender next to me on the pillow. Panic attacks have always left me exhausted for hours afterwards.
I later learned, that the woman who helped me that day was Susan Freeman, owner of The Art of the Heart. After thoroughly absorbing Sue's entire website, I called her for a reading.
And that's how the whole thing got started!