Kundalini Splendor

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Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Eulogy for Gerda 



Last April we published Gerda Visconti Kuhl's account of her kundalini awakening
(See April 12, 15, and 16)  Her story was remarkable, and even more remarkable
was her willingness to share some intimate details of her experience.
Sadly, we learned just a few days ago that Gerda has died.  The following
eulogy by her friend Peter Winskill reveals what an unusual woman she was,
finding success in both her early career as a dress designer and, later, as an
astrologer.

Peter Winskill
Eulogy for Gerda
 
I first met Gerda 38 years ago in London. There was an immediate connection – and one of the first things she told me was that she remembered her birth – of being born – she recalled details. There was tremendous noise going on and later her mother confirmed that a small plane had been flying over the house again and again at the time of her birth. Gerda said she remembered being inside her mother’s womb, indeed even hints of times before that – past lives. In this, Gerda possessed a remarkable ability for far memory. You could ask Gerda “what were you doing on such and such a day in June 1979 or whenever” and she would often be able to tell you.
She grew up in Germany and as a child experienced the bombing raids over Hamburg and first hand saw some of the terrible slaughter. After the war as a child she starved for a time, her mother desperately searching for food. Sometimes a few potatoes and an onion in a watery soup would be all they had in a week of they were lucky.
She left home at 16 and went to England where she trained as a tailor making men’s suits. Then she opened her own business making dresses in Beauchamp Place in London. She became very successful in this because she was easy going and not intimidated by the English class system. Soon her clients included not only the aristocracy but entertainers and theater people. Among her friends were Diane Cilento, Lulu and other “names”. She was discreet and a confidante to the upper class gentry who wanted Dior quality dresses at bargain prices. She was very good at her job because she could tune in to what her clients wanted – and what would suit them and look good. At one function in Buckingham Palace in 1973, five of her dresses were on show – none of their wearers were aware of the others. So it was an achievement.
She had access to high echelons but she was never a snob. She had offers of marriage which could have set her up in stately homes – but no – she preferred to have her freedom. Personal freedom was all important.
In 1975, when I met her, she had grown tired of pandering to what she viewed as womens' vanity, and this is really when her spiritual quest began and she began to ask questions like: Why are we Here. What is the purpose of Life. Things like that. She started reading voraciously spiritual books and esoteric literature. Theosophy, Buddhism. She was secretary of the Tibet Society and helped bring the Dalai Lama to England and Europe for the first time in 1977. She trained as an astrologer and within a short time had built up a clientele.
Astrology is an art and a science – and she possessed very good intuition and could pick up on people’s personalities and see their problems and the challenges and relate that to astrology. The astrology chart for her was a divinatory device, she could tune into that person and give them an accurate reading and analysis and how the planets were affecting them, the pitfalls, what was likely to happen etc . She used to say things off the top of her head. What was likely to happen and often uncanny in their accuracy. I suppose you would say now she had very high ESP.
But her motto in astrology was – and she was careful to say – that always “the stars do not compel”. In other words, fate isn’t fixed and you have some control over what happens to you.
I moved to America in the 1984 and Gerda used to come and stay with me for 6 months, then return to Europe (London and Majorca) for the rest of the year. She set herself up as an astrologer there – a lot of people used her services, actors and Hollywood people among them. But she never really felt at home in America. For a time she fronted for the successor to the astrology column of a famous astrologer after he (the latter) died, and the column needed to be continued under his name. I edited the column and it was syndicated in many newspapers. This lucrative job lasted for about 18 months.
Gerda also worked in public access television in America and got good and known for that – interviews with different people who excelled in what they did or were interesting subjects. She used to do things slightly differently from the mainstream. Robert here has seen one or two of these videos.
Gerda was fascinated by pyramids and for years experimented with them. She travelled to Russia in 2008 (to attend a clinic) and also met Anatoli Golod, the man who has built large pyramids all over Russia and funded extraordinary research. Gerda and I were privileged to spend half an hour - alone - in the King's Chamber (of the Great Pyramid) - there were no tourists as 9/11 had just occurred. But I wont go into that experience now!
Gerda was a generous and a good person with a kind heart and high intelligence. She helped whenever she could those less fortunate. But she didn’t suffer fools gladly and would often tell it how it was. Gerda wasn’t the soul of tact.
She also had enormous courage. She was a fighter. I rarely saw her fearful in any situation. Especially during these last 12 years of dealing with cancer. She refused to go the chemo radiation route, instead trying the many alternatives. One or two of these were very effective and kept her alive. Until quite recently, exercise was part of her routine and she was in love with the sea and up until about 18 months ago she used to swim out to the yellow markers on Maro beach. I would watch in trepidation.
I want to thank Stephanie here for her help and assistance and encouragement in these difficult last days. Also Robert, Isabelle, David and Laura - for their friendship and support. And Tomas and Rozella for arranging this 5 day, for me, “lying in state”. It has given me comfort that I’ve been able to carry out her wishes – and you have made this happen and accommodated it.
Gerda didn’t believe in religion because she thought it was a limitation and often caused problems, though she loved the art which the church sponsored. Her motto was “the highest religion is the truth”. She was probably more a Buddhist - or a gnostic – than anything else. The truth was to be found through self knowledge and individual soul search. She was on a quest for knowledge about the soul and its destiny and she never stopped reading – later on the internet. But she believed in the heavenly dimensions and hierarchies, that we are part of something unimaginably vast and incomprehensible, each human being contains that spark of divinity which has to be nurtured and the earth is a kind of battle ground. Love is the key and only value worth living for. All rather difficult in this “minor hell.“
Gerda was also into "conspiracies". She would always be wondering what was really going on behind the scenes, especially in politics, would never take any event at face value. She always wanted to lift Dorothy’s curtain. In this, she was often right too. She had a nose for that. I guess you could call her a good remote viewer. When the planes hit the Trade Towers in NYC in 2001 she immediately phoned me – “Oh that's the Pentagon and Mossad – a false flag event“ and I think in retrospect in the light of what we know now she may have been right !
Gerda knew a lot of people. I’ve had some wonderful emails with memories and kind words, from people scattered all over.
Although none of those who knew and appreciated her are here today – except for Robert and Stephanie - it is a privilege for me to speak these words to you here.
I am going to end with a prayer and ask you to join me in this. Thank you.

(picture sent earlier by Gerda)




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