A warm welcome to all

Hello, fellow seeker. I’m so glad you stopped by to visit. My name is Angela. I’m an author and spiritual teacher. Here you can discover a bit about my work, which began over thirty years ago when breast cancer led me inadvertently to become part of the alternative healing movement that blossomed in the 1980s with the emergence of Dr. Bernie Siegel, the Yale surgeon who humanized medicine—and who would soon become my mentor, colleague, and dear friend.

For over thirty years, with my talks, radio shows, conferences and workshops around the country, I reached thousands of people. Doctors, psychologists, ministers, nuns, people from many religions and walks of life attended these gatherings. At one time my private practice Self Healing was flooded with a waiting list of over a hundred people, while my weekly group at the Unity church reached hundreds more. Media appearances on PBS, NBC, and other television stations would bring my message of love, faith and healing to a mass audience. My two books, a nationally distributed newspaper column for the Naples Daily News, and a film made about my story Angela Passidomo Trafford: Living a Miraculous Life brought my message home to countless others.

Now, after many years and new experiences, my work goes on here. Feel free to scroll further to learn about the services I offer, book a phone session, get a signed copy of The Heroic Path, and check for blog entries to come. Stay a while, have a look around!

Let’s Talk

Not long ago I was asked to participate in a Thrive Beyond Cancer online event with twenty other authors, doctors and teachers, including my long-time friend and colleague Dr. Bernie Siegel. The organizer, Tekquiree Chenell, had read my book The Heroic Path and told me it changed her life. Of course I was more than happy to be a part of her effort, and an unexpected result of that connection was that I received several requests for online sessions from people who had seen my interview on the website. These video sessions went so well that I decided to offer them to you here on a website of my own. Please read on to find out more about the essentials of my work, and if you’d like to book a session at any time it’s just a click away.

"When I read Angela's book, I am inspired. I learn and relearn from her and her work. This book is a wonderful lesson for me. I can laugh, cry, and respond with a 'yes' to it all."

—Dr. Bernie Siegel, #1 bestselling author of Love, Medicine & Miracles

about my Work

It’s in every one of us to be wise. All of my sessions are about healing and understanding the inner self, where all the answers to your path lie patiently waiting to be discovered. Why are you here?  What is your purpose in life?  What does it all mean? The answers to these questions are in everyone, waiting to be tapped into so you can find your true path, learn how to love and be true to yourself, and feel joy in your life.  Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Let me help you find that golden guidance from within. When your inner world changes, so does your outer world—for the better!

People have many reasons why they come to me. Are you at a turning point in your life? I can help you understand your innermost compass to help direct you through the crossroads. Perhaps you have an illness and are seeking guidance. In my many years working with people who are seriously ill, I have often found that the inner self has run out of quiet patience and begins to speak to us in what I call ‘the voice of illness,’ commanding to be heard. The by-product of uprooting the emotional sources of illness and removing emotional blockage is often physical healing. Having relationship problems with a loved one? Let’s have a healing conversation that will help. Experiencing stress or anxiety? When we make the decision to love ourselves the mind can turn from slayer to healer.

Medicine Card Readings

“The animal envoys of the Unseen Power no longer serve, as in primeval times, to teach and to guide mankind…Memories of their animal envoys still must sleep, somehow, within us…” -Joseph Campbell

These intuitive readings can be very enjoyable and might be an option for those of you who would like me to do some of "the work" for you. A gift I have is to be able to see inside and unravel the Gordian Knot within—and in this case with my connections to the animals and insects of this world. I have had a relationship with the animals on the Medicine Cards for over 30 years. I like to do readings with spirit animals because they are divine messengers in Nature who want only our good. In fact, creatures in Nature will often risk their lives to bring us a healing message about our lives. I love the energy of the animals and feel a strong spiritual connection to them, and to the Native American traditions that hold them as sacred. These cards are different from the Tarot, with which I do not feel a compatible energy of total goodness. There is no dark energy in the Medicine Cards—they are pure goodness.

In order to successfully do the card readings, we will first say a prayer for guidance (this a must for all my readings) and then I will ask your permission to spread the cards and select the ones that will inform and represent your spiritual path. We will be trusting that divine spirit and will is flowing through them to give you the information you need, and that will be part of our prayer. Your permission and opening your heart to the reading will ensure us the results and possible solutions you are needing to learn and experience. Be aware that most often the reading brings up interpretations of your path that are surprising, sometimes unexpected, enlightening and affirming of your own inner voice and intuition.That is why they are called Medicine Cards. You will be able to easily see the chosen medicine cards that are picked on your screen. A lively conversation focused on your needs will be part of the healing process.

If you prefer a phone reading, I will be able to explain the cards that are selected, help you visualize what I am seeing, and clearly communicate the interpretation to you.  

Readings are highly interesting, often fun (Spirit has a wry sense of humor), and most of all enlightening. For over 30 years, I have done  many many readings for people interested in learning more about themselves, their relationships, and their choices in life. The sacred medicine card readings are surprisingly serendipitous and spiritually fulfilling—I trust that you will enjoy yours!

Healing Journey

I would love to talk with you, and offer you wisdom, comfort and compassion and valuable insight into the ‘problem’ you are needing help with. Is it really a problem, or hidden guidance that can free you to make the choice that will empower you? Perhaps I will be able to provide the gift of insight to help you unravel the issue you are struggling with and illuminate your path. I have spent many years offering counsel, comfort and healing to those going through painful choices and painful life decisions. Life is not easy. I have overcome so much on my own healing journey and have helped many others on life's spiritual path. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you feel that I might be of some help to you! Please scroll further to learn about some integral elements of my work that will illuminate more about your Healing Journey.

Interpreting the Secret World of Dreams

I have been interpreting my dreams since I was 17, when I had a powerful dream or vision that caught my attention and caused me to focus on a new reality. From that point on, I sought the keys to understanding the hidden messages from the unconscious in dreams that reveal clues to what we are struggling with in life, and the answers to our dilemma. Dream messages come in symbols, so it is necessary to decipher these symbols in order to mine the golden essence of your dream, which will show you the way to pertinent choices in your life.  I don't know where I would be today if not for the hidden messages revealed to me in what I call "the secret world of dreams."  I can help you learn how to interpret your dreams so that you too can have this powerful tool to unlock the door to your authentic self.  Interpreting your dreams can empower you and guide the way to making powerful right choices for your physical,spiritual and mental well being.  It is a fascinating ride into transforming the unconscious into present day awareness in your daily life.  It can be most enjoyable.  I invite you to come with me on this mystical journey!

Art Therapy & Interpretation of Drawings

I was introduced to the power of interpreting drawings by my good friend and mentor Dr. Bernie Siegel, bestselling author of Love, Medicine and Miracles, and the doctor who humanized medicine. I have been interpreting drawings for over 30 years now and it is an amazing experience to see the meaning of what you have actually drawn on paper when asked, for instance, to draw a picture of an illness you are experiencing, a relationship problem (to yourself or others) or how you feel about medical choices for which you are seeking to find answers. Don't feel that you are alone if you feel resistant or embarrassed to draw, saying instead, " I am not an artist!" You don't have to be, you can find answers in the drawings that can be startling in their truth. You will never cease to be amazed at the information revealed to you by your very own self, which proves to be so helpful in making the choices you are seeking. Yes, you can even draw a picture and find an answer that unlocks another door to your inner self—and your inner self is what you want access to in these crucial life choices that perplex us in daily life. Probing deeper into yourself is where you will find them hiding beyond guilt and fear and resistance. You can become powerful in your day-to-day world simply by having the courage to dig a little deeper beneath the surface of life into your own needs and preferences. Maybe you already realize some of the things I am writing to you about, however it is a boon and a gift to have help and encouragement along the way!

Creative Visualization and Guided Imagery

The first time I read about visualization was at a crisis in my life—I was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. In a miraculous series of events that occurred after prayer, I found Dr. Bernie Siegel's book, Love, Medicine and Miracles, and in those pages he introduced me to a valuable tool called visualization, which led to the healing of my own life. Guided imagery or visualization is a creative process that connects the body to the mind and an invaluable tool that assists you in figuring out the source of the body's problem, or what I call the voice of illness. You can lovingly create (as I did) a creative imagery that enlists your mind's help in healing your body. You can identify the emotional roots of the illness and create the body-mind connection that heals and ignites wellness. You can refer to my book The Heroic Path to inform yourself of how effective visualization can be in the healing process.

Keeping a Journal — Getting in Touch with your True Feelings & Intuition

I started keeping a journal way back when I lived in a log cabin in the Canadian woods.  I was in a soul sucking abusive marriage and I had lost myself.  One day I felt the need to try and express myself, so I sat down next to the wood stove and wrote down these words: Are these really my feelings or am I just going mad staring at my own reflection? With these words, I started a revolution in consciousness- the painstaking task of getting in touch with my feelings and my dreams, which really means getting in touch with myself. Many people resist writing in a journal. However once you start and learn this simple art, you will be pleased and surprised at what a wonderful difference it makes in your life. I have a stack of journals that I sometimes read to remember how recording my feelings and dreams so influenced and helped me at crucial junctures on my path, and just remembering the history of my path in this world amazes and inspires me. Writing down your feelings brings you into reality instead of being at the mercy of the ceaseless thoughts of the intellect that just go round and round. The journal will ground you and help you see the light. Once you learn, your journals will be with you forever, a heartfelt reminder of your personal growth, and the memories of your path.

In Books and Media

“I always feel good when I enter Angela Passidomo Trafford’s office. I feel validated, nurtured, and somehow better about myself… Angela speaks from personal experience.”

––Sharon Bruckman, Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor’s Soul

“I imagined small, delicate birds searching my breast for crumbs. To my surprise my imagery took the form of the cancer being golden crumbs, filling in their richness. Each day the birds would eat the golden crumbs. It was amazing to me that I visualized the cancer in this form, as being crumbs too golden rich for my body. After the birds had eaten their fill, I would then imagine a pure beam of intense spiritual white light entering my body. I would then pray to God for guidance, renewal and protection.

One morning after a particularly exhilarating bike ride, I sat down for my meditation and visualization. The white light suddenly appeared, immediately, and coursed down through my head, spreading like white heat through my breast and limbs. I felt the power take hold of me and I let go of it while my heart raced and pounded. After a short intense interval I slumped sidewise in exhaustion. I knew something extraordinary had happened.

The next morning, when I sat down to visualize, I could no longer find any golden crumbs. An inner voice whispered, ‘There isn't anything there.’ And each morning I had the same experience. I told my husband, ‘I wish they'd take another mammogram. I bet they wouldn't find anything.

And a week later when she went in at her surgeon’s request for a second mammogram, she didn’t.”

-from Dr. Bernie Siegel’s Peace, Love and Healing

“Angela Passidomo Trafford, a breast-cancer survivor and author of The Heroic Path, One Woman's Journey from Cancer to Self-Healing, found that ‘illness has a voice.’ She told me recently that learning to listen to that voice within taught her lessons that ultimately saved her life. In her book, she writes:

Cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me. It totally changed my life . . . I allowed it to totally change my life. I allowed it to enter my life like the spirit of truth and crack me down, crack down my resistance to change––my hardened, unforgiving ways. Illness is a challenge and, as with any challenge, it signals the need for growth and change. It is a call to be true to ourselves, to respect our needs, to identify whatever is undermining our happiness and clear it out of the way. Illness is often the way in which life teaches us to take charge of ourselves and shows us that we are neither powerless nor helpless.”

– from Susan L. Taylor's Lessons in Living

“When Angela was first given ‘the gift’ of cancer, she saw that it was soon to become a pathway to the transformation in her life. After going through a series of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, she discovered Dr. Bernie Siegel's book Love, Medicine & Miracles and began to practice the visualization techniques outlined in it. As a result of her extraordinary healing experience (recounted in Dr. Siegel's book Peace, Love & Healing), Angela developed the gift of ‘seeing into people’ to help then transform their own lives, their health, and their way of living. She currently teaches people how to live through the power of belief and love.”

-from Louise L. Hay’s Gratitude: A Way of Life

 “In this collection of first-person accounts, doctor and author Siegel (Love, Medicine, and Miracles) brings together almost three dozen cancer patients (or close relations of) to share their stories and the lessons they’ve learned. Many entries tackle the moment of diagnosis (the first, from survivor Angela Passidomo Trafford, opens with the line, ‘How many times do I have to have cancer?!’"

—Publishers Weekly, April 2009

“Angela Passidomo Trafford believes she cured herself of a life-threatening illness by getting to what she considers to be its emotional cause. Diagnosed with a six-centimeter malignant breast tumor at the age of thirty-five, Angela was told she needed a radical mastectomy as well as radiation and chemotherapy. After some soul-searching, she opted for a lumpectomy. A year and a half later, the cancer recurred in her other breast. At this point, she decided to heal herself.

‘I regarded that lump as a symbol of the sad life I had been living,’ recalls Angela. ‘I’d been in an abusive marriage. We’d lived in the isolated woods of Canada, where I had no support system. And all the pain, resentment, and sorrow of my life had collected in that area near my heart until, finally, the blocked-up energy of my emotions manifested itself as a tumor. Cutting out the tumor was cutting out my old life.’

Amazingly, Angela triumphed over her cancer. She credits not only the medical treatment she received but her journal writing, meditation, and visualization. ‘I would imagine a group of small birds eating golden crumbs,’ she recalls. ‘The birds represented my imune system, and the crumbs were the cancer cells. I would let the birds eat their fill, and then I would visualize a bright white light entering my head and traveling down through my body, cleansing me.’”

- Cosmopolitan Magazine, November 1996