Karen Carpenter
Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer who, along with her elder brother Richard, was part of the duo, The Carpenters. She was praised for her 3-octave contralto vocal range. Her struggles with eating disorders would later raise awareness of anorexia and body dysmorphia.
via Jeanne Love, August 31, 2020
"There are some brilliant singers and musicians out there, but their real voices
can’t be heard because they are required to create a cover that is full of
gimmicks to stand out and be noticed. They fear that their talent alone
is not enough for the money people to go on."
Good morning Jeanne. It is such a pleasure to be close to you…once again.
I felt your surprise at my presence being with you this morning. I couldn’t wait to connect with you again after all these years. You are truly my inspiration.
I also heard you say, “Why now?” Well, that, my dear, is why I am here.
This whole thing about death and dying is really a very curious thing. I had no idea what lay ahead for me when I was wilting away. And I was wilting, like a southern Belle on a very hot and humid day. I felt as if I had this massive corset on and I couldn’t breathe. I don’t mean to step on anyone else’s ideas about not being able to breathe, like the big movements that are taking place now in your world. But for me, well, the pressure, the adulation with expectation and the conflict I felt in having to please everyone but myself drew me to this moment when I realized I couldn’t stay connected anymore. And I just gradually started to leave my body via not eating. I didn’t want to be here any more, and I didn’t really know how to leave. So I entered this in-between state of being here/not being here, until it took the best of me, and my body could no longer support me.
There is this kind of euphoric state when food has been withdrawn for so long. And I began to feel less and less human. It didn’t matter to me what anybody was saying -- I was in a different world by that time. I pretended to be interested but I wasn’t. Then it became apparent that I could no longer stay, and the body just gave up.
If I were to be able to have a do-over it would look like this: Different parents. I loved both my mom and dad, but they never talked about real issues. I understand that a lot of parents in that generation didn’t talk much about the deep psychological stuff. And because of that, faced with tremendous fame and the pressure of it, I was overwhelmed for a very long time, until I began to crack.
Mind you, if I had chosen different parents I probably would not have ended up with the talent that I had. So, I could do things differently, have different choices, but then I would be in a whole different framework and the things that brought such a disturbance to my life might have never happened. So, there you go!
However, the real reason I was allowed a ticket to this power group is that I have something to say to whomever will listen about what happens after we leave our bodies. I am afraid I just might sound like everyone else when I say that I was very surprised, relieved really, when I found that I still was thinking, had thoughts, was still “breathing." At first, I was a bit dumbfounded and my mind scrambled to try and figure it all out. After all, I had a pretty traditional upbringing about religion, what was next after you die etc. I hadn’t given it much thought. I did, however, have certain experiences in my life before all the fame and stuff. I had experiences with a certain presence in my room, a relative, who I don’t wish to name here, but who would “come to me in times of trouble…”to quote Paul M.
After we became so well known, my ability to sense this presence began to diminish…too much other stuff rolling around. However, as I was passing, leaving my body, this person came to me again to help me step out of my physical universe. I was SO happy to see this person that I forgot for a bit, who I was and where I had come from and what my hardships had been.
I was never alone once I left and I was so very grateful for this. Then there was you, miss Jeanne. You came in quite soon after I left, and you wrapped your arms around me and told me how sorry you were that I couldn’t find the strength to stay. We both wept. But I never felt any judgment from you. It was just a simple statement of fact. I have never forgotten your awareness; your kindness and I am so ever fortunate that we have had the light to connect us. That light being our music. I have never really left the earth energy field, at least not for long. I realized after a bit of earth time that I really regretted not being able to stay, not being able to handle the psychic energy that I felt, all those crushing energies from millions of fans. I was educated later as to how that affected my own personal matrix, how that by being an empath I was deeply connected and influenced by millions of other voices and could not stand in my own field of energy. I had no understanding, and because of that lack of wisdom I was overcome. You know people need to understand that thoughts are things and that they become this collective movement. When only a few people like someone that is very manageable but when hundreds, thousands and then millions of individuals have feelings for someone it creates this whole new energy field, this pattern that gets directed to the source, which in my case was me. I didn’t know how to separate myself. I didn’t have the first inkling of how to go about that. I had never come up against something like this before and I felt that I would be perceived as ungrateful if I complained.
Do you understand what I am saying here Jeanne? I am saying that the collective of thought can move mountains, it can also destroy the finest of individuals. Kind of what you are all experiencing right now. This collective of anger and unresolved conflict that is spewing forth into an unprotected, uneducated population. But I digress. The real important message here is this: Be responsible for every thought you have because that will create an equal and corresponding reaction. If you send love, then more love will return. If you send hate, then more hate will return. If you send peace, then more peace will prevail. If you send understanding, then you will receive more understanding. It is the Rule of Engagement in the earth world. I have seen it firsthand for myself. I had to study why I left the way I did, and I had to understand what I need to do now to change the energy around my leaving. It has been an interesting journey.
And finally, although I am really enjoying this connection, I must tell all of you how grateful I am that you still listen to our music. My brother is a wonderful man and he has raised a wonderful family. I have always thought that he was by and far the more talented of the two of us, but I got all the fanfare. He was more than my background. He was my rock, even when he struggled. We both did. He did the best he could possibly do. We were so young. Such innocent kids quickly swept up in the current of the times. We had no idea how it was shaping us and moving us into another part of ourselves we were ill-equipped to deal with.
And because we were so young, so innocent we gave in to parts of our own being that we would probably never have entertained had we been “discovered” when we were a bit older. Hollywood does that: use the youth, exploit the children before they know better and then send them on their way.
And if you do listen to our music, I promise you that the innocence and the joy that was felt when these recordings were made, are still there. I still sing along with some of my Karen impersonators, or tribute Karens. Ha ha…not for my ego but to help inspire those who share my love of music so that they will continue, which helps others to become inspired. It is a wonderful domino effect.
I am truly grateful to report that I am still alive and kicking and that I continue to support the arts in anyway I can. I have been watching the new artists as they step forward and I find it a bit disturbing to see what the industry is trying to make them become. It is all so commercialized, coerced etc. There are some brilliant singers and musicians out there, but their real voices can’t be heard because they are required to create a cover that is full of gimmicks to stand out and be noticed. They fear that their talent alone is not enough for the money people to go on.
Dear friends, thank you for allowing me to voice my feelings and concerns. All I really want to say is I am alive, doing well and excited that my voice can still be heard. I am so very grateful that anyone remembers my name and without being a cliché’ I really have to say: We’ve Only Just Begun…
Karen