The Cedarwood Sanctuary came in to being through serendipities on the journey of its creator and primary practitioner, Thomas Trafford. For specifics on his journey and his outlook for TCS, read the section below this one.
Thomas' connection to Spirit was overlooked by him until some years ago, although he now recognizes it was there from an early age. This is true for many of us, we live in a world that is practical and tactile and scientific. Thomas has memories that others told him were dreams, had it reinforced that he had an active imagination when he thought he could hear the wind and the trees whispering, etc. In his early 20s he began to hear his name being spoken to him by a disembodied voice, which confused and terrified him and made him think himself unwell. Shutting parts of himself down to retreat from this experience and to successfully integrate into the societal norm, he started a career in graphic design, marketing and advertising.
After a series of passings in 2010, Thomas began to feel a call to help others, and to recognize and ease their pain. To do this, he trained and volunteered for years as a grief counsellor, which acted as part of his healing as well. During one of the group sessions, someone was sharing their experience with the loss of a family member. As they told a specific part of their story, Thomas undeniably heard a voice tell him to give a message to the speaker. He was too alarmed to do so at the time, but the experience stayed with him and altered his course drastically.
Thomas has always had an interest and belief in all things other-worldly, despite his fears, and has had many readings over the years from psychics and mediums. Around the time when he heard this voice in the counselling session, he was considering answering his call to help ease the pain of others through social work or becoming a death doula. Thomas soon ran in to a medium he had met, in a very cold parking lot on a wintery day, and had a conversation that solidified his changing course.
For the past 3 years Thomas has been leaning in to his awakened connection with Spirit. He has had the sheer pleasure of being the student of The Olive Readers and The Hawk & I, as well as working with many other gifted healers, mediums and intuitives. His connection continues to change, grow, challenge him, confuse him and ultimately bring him farther along the path of self-discovery. Allowing himself to trust beyond what is comfortable, or sometimes logical, and dig deep within to unlock and know his true self has been the best decision he ever made.
This connection, coupled with his 10+ years experience as a counsellor and his own personal struggles with anxiety, fear, grief and self-worth have led him here, offering his counsel and assistance to all those who should feel they need the refuge or guidance of The Cedarwood Sanctuary.
Thomas was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He has had the privilege to travel much of the world and Canada, and spent many seasons in the forests and lakes of Ontario. He has always felt a very strong connection to the natural world, which to him, has always been entirely alive, involved, and aware of more than we are.
From an equally early age, his interest in the natural world was paired with one in the metaphysical world. Thomas consumed stories, legends, books and programs on ghosts, witches, bigfoot, alternate dimensions, fearies, sprites, manifestations, demons, angels, etc. One of his earliest memories is of his older brother teaching him to fly on the sidewalk outside of their house, one that to this day despite reason and his brother not sharing the waking memory, Thomas can not shake. It remains so vivid that he attributes the experience to lessons that were learned on the astral plane while both were sleeping.
In 2009/2010, Thomas, his friends and family lived through four losses within a six month timeframe. Thomas was thrown in to the depths of a grief unlike any he had known, and this shook him to his core. As is often the case, the grief was coupled with fear and anxiety. Having already struggled with some anxiety, this grieving period compounded and exacerbated it to new heights.
Thomas doubled-down on his want to understand the nature of death and dying, and the root of his anxious mind — which can not be done without a ripping open, ruthless evaluation of the self. This journey continues to this day, as it is indeed lifelong. He now believes that the point of our lives is to have the clarity, understanding and acceptance of our soul's true purpose, and then the bravery and trust to live nothing else but that purpose.
He has never stopped talking to trees, whispering to the ocean or believing in magic. The world does not make sense to him without its magical pulse, which he has come to learn is nothing else but living energy — transmuted, transformed and worked with by all creation, both seen and unseen.
This living energy is our connection to the cosmos, to Spirit, to our bodies, to Creation, to our highest selves, to every living thing and one another. Whatever you call this force, it is the fabric on which all reality (known to us and yet unknown) is woven. Understanding this connected tapestry is paramount to releasing our fears, our pain, our grief and our unconscious self-sabotage.
Unpacking and rewiring our perspectives and attitudes through shifting our energetic vibrations and our programmed beliefs is the work before all of us. When this very challenging work is acknowledged and begun, it can lead to healing, to our truest and happiest selves, a deep sense of connection (and kindness) to nature and all humanity and our own personal abundance.
Thomas is also an artist, particularly interested in portraiture. His goal as a painter is always to capture the truth and emotion of his subjects; to study the human experience and attempt to capture the magic of their souls on canvas.
To see some of his older work please visit: www.coroflot.com/thomtraff