As
a child growing up in Kansas, Ann
Bolinger-McQuade was mildly intrigued
with the idea of having Native American
ancestors, but she never considered her
heritage relevant to her life. She took
for granted her family’s innate comfort
with the supernatural. Aunt Evie, for
instance, her hero and mentor, had a
psychic connection. Although most of
Kansas had never heard of Edgar Cayce,
Ann perceived her aunt’s abilities as
perfectly normal. Nor did she find it
unusual when her family associated the
timely appearances of a cardinal with
the comforting presence of an uncle who
had recently died. Often, her father
would stop conversation to explain the
meaning he had found in a particular
shape, be it something in nature or in
the piece of toast he was eating.
Indeed, Ann grew up in a world filled
with metaphor and meaning, a world that
became the basis for her passion and her
life work. She is grateful for her
paternal great grandmother’s Native
American influence that she has come to
realize is ingrained in every part of
her being.
The idea of ancestral
imprints only occurred to her after a
series of personal events sent her
hurtling onto what she describes as an
invisible moving sidewalk. (Imagine the
people carriers found in airports.) Ann
believes that at certain times we all
land on such a sidewalk, which carries
us to a certain destination. Her
sidewalk transported her to a place
where oracles that had been hiding in
plain sight seemed to magically appear
at exactly the right time to guide and
comfort her. Ann began paying close
attention to the ways that Spirit works
in her life and in the lives of others.
During the last twenty-five years she
has documented her spiritual experiences
and is now sharing her messages and
teachings with others.
Ann’s curiosity and
passion for discovering the
hidden–obvious has fueled her work. The
spiritual communities in Texas, Arizona
and New Mexico have supported her for
the past three decades. Before becoming
a full time author in 1999, her career
path included advertising and sales,
writing for a trade publication in the
fashion industry in Dallas and later,
owning a small business in California.
In 2003, because of her Native American
ancestry, and in support of her pending
book, Cloud-Speak: Oracles in the Sky,
the Native American Church of North
America honored Ann and her husband,
Kenneth, by performing a Native American
ceremony for them on their land in New
Mexico. Ann and Kenneth currently reside
in Tucson.
For the many
blessings in her life, she gives thanks. |