Metaphysical library opens

By CONSTANCE SEE Whitefish Pilot

She's back. Reflexologist and city counselor Velvet Phillips-Sullivan, who spoke last year in the Pilot about her past life experiences as Mary Magdalene, has opened a free metaphysical library in downtown Whitefish, based on a similar project in Ashland, Ore.

"I haven't advertised, but people have already stopped by and left books," she said. "I have about 20 signatures on the sign-out sheet so far. I don't know how they find the library, but I know they find it when they need it."

The concept evolved last winter when Phillips-Sullivan was given boxes and boxes of New Age books, music CDs and video tapes following the death of Betty Zieger, a massage client. The two women met when Zieger's daughters called Phillips-Sullivan requesting a healing massage for their 95-year-old mother, who was in pain and dying.

"When Betty and I talked, I discovered she had been a massage therapist and healer for nearly half a century," Phillips-Sullivan said. "She had a lot of knowledge, and I really wanted to learn from her, but she said it was too late. She passed away the next day. Her daughters said I helped her let go. I was told years ago by an astrologer, that I was in this lifetime to help people through transitions."

After the funeral, the daughters contacted Phillips-Sullivan, presenting her with their mother's library. The collection covered a wide array of topics, including Native American spirituality, health care, Kundalini yoga, Christian mysticism, energy medicine, diet and materials relating to one of Zieger's mentors — Sathya Sai Baba, a religious leader and philosopher from southern India.

Zieger told Phillips-Sullivan that she was 75 when she traveled to Sai Baba's ashram to hear him speak, along with several thousand other devotees.

"Betty said Sai Baba called to her to go there, and when she arrived, out of all of those people, he came up to her, talked to her and touched her," Phillips-Sullivan said. "She told me that changed her life."

Phillips-Sullivan hopes the new library, which officially opened May 2, will also change lives. The public is invited to stop by, sit down, relax, peruse the New Age materials, or sign out a book to take home and read. More donations are also welcomed.

The Whitefish Metaphysical Library is located in a small room at 404 East First Street, but Phillips-Sullivan has rented a larger space in the same building, previously occupied by seamstress Liz Maul. After the walls are painted, she'll move the furniture and books into the new room. The library is open during the transition.

Halloween is a perfect time to open, Phillips-Sullivan said. The holiday is also known in the Celtic tradition as Hallowmas/Samhain, a season to honor the Greek mythological character of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld.

"This season is a time of stillness suspended between now and the future, a time to commune with our ancestors and listen to the crone within," she said.

To contact Phillips-Sullivan about the metaphysical library, call 862-6226.