Episode 39: What a Psychic Can Teach Us About the Carousel of Happiness

Welcome to the Carousel of Happiness Podcast.

On today's episode, we wrap up our conversation with intuitive healer and teacher, Deborah Keys. Deborah is a psychic who specializes in a modality called House Healing. On today’s episode, I’ll take you behind the scenes of Deborah’s visit to the carousel. She stopped by the last week and used her house healing and reading skills to give us some specific insights into what is going on inside the carousel from an energetic perspective. Plus, she connected to a special figure in the carousel, a specific angel who is protecting the space. Find out who it is on this episode of the podcast. 

Want to join us for Animals After Dark on November 11th? Check out the link here: https://carouselofhappiness.org/annualgala/.

Does your home need a healing? To learn more about Deborah and her business,  Divine House Healing, click here: https://www.divinehousehealing.com/.

The Carousel of Happiness is a nonprofit arts & culture organization dedicated to inspiring happiness, well-being, and service to others through stories and experiences.

Check out the carousel on the CBS national news! https://www.cbsnews.com/news/carousel-daydream-helped-marine-get-through-vietnam-war-he-then-made-that-carousel-a-reality/

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider visiting the Carousel of Happiness online (https://carouselofhappiness.org/), on social media (https://www.facebook.com/carouselofhappiness), or in real life. Or consider donating (https://carouselofhappiness.org/once-donate/) to keep the carousel and its message alive and spinning 'round and 'round.

If you have a story to share, please reach out to Allie Wagner at outreach@carouselofhappiness.org

Special thanks to songwriter, performer, and friend of the carousel, Darryl Purpose (https://darrylpurpose.com/), for sharing his song, "Next Time Around," as ou...

Transcript

Welcome to the Carousel of Happiness Podcast. I’m your host, Allie Wagner. 

On last week’s episode, you met Boulder-based intuitive healer and teacher, Deborah Keys. Deborah is a psychic who specializes in a modality called House Healing. You learned what house healing is, how it improves mood and overall well-being, and how to know if your space needs a healing. Plus, Deborah gave us her professional opinion about the healing energy of the carousel.

On today’s episode, I’ll take you behind the scenes of Deborah’s visit to the carousel. She stopped by the last week when we were closed and used her house healing and reading skills to tidy up the space and give us some specific insights into what is going on inside the carousel from an energetic perspective. Plus, she connected to a special figure in the carousel, a specific angel who is protecting the space. Find out who it is on this episode of the podcast. 

But before we get to that, I want to share that we are gearing up for our big annual fundraiser called Animals After Dark. As the name suggests, we meet at the carousel in the evening for dinner and drinks, plus, this year, a scavenger hunt with prizes and a very special theme.

As you know, dear listener, this year is the carousel’s 15th anniversary, or 15th birthday, as it were. And to celebrate this occasion, we are asking guests to show up dressed like their 15-year-old self. That’s right: dig out your favorite pair of bell bottoms, give yourself an asymmetrical haircut, or maybe find that perfect grunge-inspired flannel. We want to celebrate our big milestone by asking each of you to tap into your 15-year-old self’s energy.

Who were you at 15? How did you express yourself? What was your authentic identity? 

For teenagers especially, clothes can be a huge part of our expression of identity. Did you wear what everyone else did? Did you follow trends? Maybe you wanted to stand out. How did you do that? Maybe you weren’t the most authentic version of yourself in high school. If you could do it all over again, who would you be?

Because the Carousel of Happiness is at a similar stage of our development. We’ve spent the last 15 years coming into ourselves. First, building the carousel and the building, then welcoming folks into the unique space, and now, at age 15, we look toward the future. Who are we moving forward? How do we show up authentically as ourselves? Now, at age 15, we look toward the empty canvas in front of us and we begin to play with what’s possible.

The play begins with Animals After Dark on November 11th. Veteran’s Day. When we celebrate where we’ve been, and look toward where we’re going. And we’d love it if you could join us. We’ll talk more about the event in the future on the podcast, but in the meantime, you can check out tickets and more details in the show notes. If you buy your ticket before October 11th, you receive $10 off.

Now, without further ado, let us begin with today’s story.

GONG

When Deborah Keys does a House Healing for a home or a business it typically takes her around 1.5 - 2 hours. She can do her work both physically in-person or remotely on Zoom. Even though she works with “spaces” she doesn’t actually need to be in a space to read its energy. 

But she came up to the carousel because I was eager to give her a private tour and watch how she works in-person.

We start by entering the carousel house and moving to the left toward the Wonder Gate. As we pass the south side of the building, I point to the center pole and the massive electric motor. Both have been part of this carousel since it began spinning in Salt Lake City in 1910. 

Scott has often called the center pole the “soul” of the carousel because it has collected the joyful screams and shouts of every single person who has ridden it for the last 115 years.

Deborah likes this idea. And it is true, she says, items collect and store the energy of those who use them over time. She recommends if you buy something at Good Will or an antique store that you clear its energy before you bring it into your home. You can do this by burning some sage or saying a prayer. You can run it under water, if appropriate or run it through the washing machine. What you do doesn’t matter as much as the intention you apply to whatever you’re doing.  

As we pass by the motor, Deborah notices the massive quartz crystal in the center of the circle. I explain it was a gift from Roy Young, the owner of the rock shop in town. Deborah also notices the smaller crystals sprinkled at its feet, all left behind by riders who wanted to amplify the love.

She’s taking pictures of the animals now, as I explain how Scott carved them. One at a time. Spending 3 - 6 months on each one. Learning about them. Researching them. Getting to know them. Taking the time to understand what they meant to different cultures, different people. 

She asks me about the gong. I explain that it’s how we start every ride with intention and with wonder.

I point out the koala next to the gong. I explain that it was carved with someone special in mind. When one of Scott’s friends, a grief counselor, lost her first daughter Scott approached her to see if he could carve something in her daughter’s honor. His friend agreed and deep within the belly of this special bear lies a tribute to a special little girl named Elyse. Now, her mother and Elyse’s two siblings come to the carousel every year on her birthday to celebrate and honor her.

As we wrap around the north side of the building, I point out the Somewhere Else Wall. A tribute and an acknowledgement that some of us are here, and some of us are “somewhere else.” Visitors are invited to bring notes to loved ones, which can be left in two small openings in the wall.

In the wall, also, are the ashes of those who have passed, photos of loved ones, and various momentos, including rocks blown apart by IEDs in Afghanistan.

As we continue our circle, we stop at our own little Vietnam War Veterans Memorial. There are two plaques and two photos, with two carefully folded American flags. 

I explain that the Carousel of Happiness is dedicated to the memory of two special Marines. Two Marines who served with Scott in Vietnam. Christian Langenfeld and Paul Christmas. Both died in combat on the very day Scott was injured.

Christian, or Chris as he was known, was gentle and kind. When he told friends he was leaving high school early to join the Marines they were shocked and tried to convince him otherwise. He joined Scott’s machine gun squad in 1967 when he was 18 years old. According to Scott, seeing such a gentle human behind a 30-caliber machine gun felt odd, like a mismatch. 

Paul Christmas was born in Newark, New Jersey. He was a kind and compassionate man who made everyone laugh during a time they needed it most. Scott remembers one day when he got assigned to a nighttime listening post after a long day of patrolling. Scott didn’t want to go. He was tired. As he was leaving the perimeter for his assignment, his friend Paul ran after him with a big smile. And gave Scott his fruit cup. A highly coveted and sought after item for hungry Marines in Con Thien at the time. Paul’s big smile and his generous gift were just what Scott needed to get through his assignment. 

We pass the memorial and sit down on the benches along the south side of the building. Deborah is ready to begin the healing. The sun is warm on our backs as Deborah closes her eyes to enter a meditative state.

When Deborah is doing a House Healing she starts by taking a tour of the space, just like we did, and then sitting in meditation. Once in a meditative state, she’s able to psychically view the space to see if there are any energetic obstacles.

I close my eyes too and wait to hear the sounds of her voice.

We are not in silence very long. 

She tells me the energy of the carousel house is very, very powerful. She hasn’t seen anything like it. According to Deborah, the carousel’s energy radiates beyond the physical limits of the building itself, which is unusual. Psychically, the energy is bigger than the space itself. 

She compares it to a lighthouse, radiating its healing energy into the town itself. Deborah tells me she gets the sense that life in Nederland can be harsh. I laugh a little. It is true that living in this town, at 8,000 feet above sea level, when the wind whips relentlessly, is not for the faint of heart.

She explains that the healing energy of the carousel is so powerful that it has started to overflow into the town itself. Essentially, the town is receiving a healing from the carousel all the time. 

Deborah is amused. Typically, when she works on a space there are bits of energetic obstacles here and there. That’s actually not the case with the carousel, apparently. In fact, Deborah doesn’t really want to change the energy of the carousel house that much. It is clear to her that the energy is pure, and it is working.

She explains that part of the reason for this is that the healing energy of the carousel is so strong that it actually transmutes negative energy as soon as it enters the space. Unlike other places, which can accumulate negative energy that lingers over time, the carousel is unique in that its healing energy is so powerful it is capable of transmuting negative energy as soon as it enters the space.

All of those details I mentioned in our tour are part of the reason the healing energy is so strong. Each animal that was dedicated to someone’s memory. Each person who had the opportunity to heal here. All of those layers have built and accumulated over time to create this powerful healing force.

Take the animals, for instance. Through Scott’s process of learning about the animals and connecting to each one, he has created an environment in which each of the animals has its own healing frequency and that they are all complimenting each other, working with one another, to create this larger healing energy. Basically, each animal has a job, has a medicine it provides, and they are doing that job in compliment to one another.

When Deborah does her House Healing work, she will go through each room of the building with the occupant and ask them how they’d like to set the energy of the space moving forward. In the carousel house, she asks me how we’d like to set the tone for this room. She notes there’s plenty of healing and love in the space, and I suggest that she adds “childlike wonder” to the overall tone.

As we’ve already learned on the podcast together, colors have energy and she sets the carousel house to the frequency of orange and pink. Two colors known for sparking creativity, imagination, love, and joy. Or, in our case, “childlike wonder.”

Deborah explains that, unlike the carousel house, the energy of the gift shop does have a little lingering energy that could be cleaned up. She closes her eyes again and tidies everything up from our spot on the bench in the carousel house. 

When she asks me what energetic frequency we’d like to set in the gift shop, we decided on green and gold. Green represents balance and harmony, and gold is the highest healing frequency available. She imbues all of the objects in the gift shop with the healing energy of the carousel itself, allowing that energy to go home with the person who buys a shirt or a mug, for example.

We go through the rest of the carousel and set the tone for the puppet theater to the frequency of “creativity” and the birthday party room gets a big dose of some serious “birthday party” vibes.

As we’re going through the rooms, she offers some suggestions for improving the energy of the other spaces. The puppet theater, for example, could benefit from more light, she tells me.

And she does this same thing for her clients. She’ll walk through the space and give the occupant suggestions for furniture placement or little things they can do to alter the flow of energy. This is her feng shui training and she can’t help but share it.

When I ask her if she has some tips for listeners on how they can improve the energy of their homes she tells me that making sure your front door is beautiful and accessible is very important in feng shui. It helps the good luck find you. This also means it's important that your house numbers are visible and there’s lighting on the front door.

She tells me that clearing clutter is good for the energy of a space, as well. She also suggests fixing things as soon as they are broken, rather than waiting. This impacts the clarity of the energetic signal your home puts out.

There are also other ways you can heal your space on your own. You can smudge with sage, burn incense, or diffuse essential oils throughout your home. Music helps too. Playing high vibration classical music or meditation music can change the overall frequency of a space and have an impact on how you feel when you are in it. 

Once we are done setting the energetic frequency of the rooms at the carousel, she tells me she’s going to look for angels in the carousel house. Energetic beings who are watching over the carousel from their place in the spirit world.

She closes her eyes and then points to the cherubs up in the sweeps. There, she says. She sees a young African American man with a crown on his head. The crown is far too big, but he’s wearing it joyfully. And he’s got a little wand or scepter that he’s waiving in a silly, goofy sort of way.

All of a sudden, the hair on my arms stands up on end. My mouth drops. Deborah opens her eyes and looks at me.

“What?” she asks.

I point over her shoulder to the Vietnam War Veteran Memorial we had just passedl. To the picture of Scott’s friend, Paul Christmas. A picture of a young, goofy African American man.

We both look at each other and she nods.

Paul Christmas.

It was him. Just as Scott had described him in the past. Silly. Goofy. With a big smile on his face and a joyful heart. Still healing others through laughter when they need it the most.

She explains to me that this angel, Paul, works in other places, but that the carousel is his primary home. And he specializes in the healing of men.

It makes complete and total sense to me. A young man who died at the age of 21 years old, surrounded by other men who were hurting, feels attached to a place of joy and laughter made by his friend, Scott.  

In retrospect, I wish I had asked Deborah if he was holding a fruit cup.

*

Overall, Deborah stresses that what makes the carousel’s energy so healing is that it has been compounded over time. Beginning in Salt Lake City, with all of the visitors in their fancy dresses enjoying a wholesome afternoon out, to the residents at the Utah State Training School, engaging in some play therapy at Fairyland, to Scott who gathers the frame and starts to heal himself, one animal at a time. Not to mention the 1.3 million visitors who have walked through these doors and laughed, cried, and healed. 

Plus, the layers of thought and intention that went into the carousel’s creation. When Scott sat down to research each animal he was carving, he learned about them. He got to know them. And this allowed him to imbue each animal with their unique medicine. With their unique flavor of healing. And they all, somehow, work together in concert now.

Not to mention, the memorials. Like the koala or the Somewhere Else Wall. Details in this place that carry with them meaning and intention. That energy has accumulated and built on itself as well.

Plus, the gifts. The Carousel of Happiness has been the beneficiary of generous gifts throughout the years. Whether it was the gift of quartz crystal from Roy at the rock shop or the volunteers who gave their time to build the building itself or the cash donations in the jar at the front desk. Each of these is their own energetic contribution to the healing thumbprint of this place.

Above all, it’s important to note that the highest healing vibration available to human beings is love. Each and every act that took place in the creation of the Carousel of Happiness was an act of love. And that love is what makes this place so healing. 

Scott sometimes gets fussy with me because he thinks I give him credit for knowing this stuff ahead of time. I want to go on record in saying he didn’t know any of this. He didn’t read books on healing or energy or how to create a healing space.

But that is what I think is actually part of the magic of this place. Scott didn’t know. He didn’t know with this conscious mind that any of this would play out the way that it did. He didn’t start this project in 1986 anticipating in 40 years that a psychic would come along and validate his work.

No. Instead, in each and every moment he had a choice, he chose love. Love for himself. Love for others. Love for the community.

In the end, no one knows what they are doing. Even if they tell you otherwise. But as we’ve seen here at the Carousel of Happiness, if you lean into love, deliberately and consciously over time that that love will build. It will accumulate. And what I learned from Deborah’s visit, is that that love has the ability to transmute and transform any negative energy that comes its way.

If you are interested in receiving a House Healing from Deborah, she is accepting new clients, both in-person and remote. You can check out a link to her business, Divine House Healing, in the show notes.

In the meantime, take care. Be well. And, as we like to say at the Carousel of Happiness, “don’t delay joy.” And we’ll see you next time around.