A Series of Coincidences

The phenomenon of Lilyana

How often we ignore what is going on around us, but we react so strongly when it is we who become the participants in an event.  Every little detail becomes important…  Suddenly, a leaf falling from a tree, a word uttered in passing, an unexpected gust of wind, or the sun peeping out from behind some clouds can become a sign.  Some people call this superstition.  But we, modern people, understand very well that there cannot be any relation, any connection between a black cat crossing our path in the morning and problems at work during the day, between spilled salt and an argument with a friend, between…one could count up examples for a long time.  We all know very well that if one event is followed by others, and even if this sequence repeats itself sometimes – it cannot be the rule, it is nothing more than a coincidence.

Analyzing the tales of those who have been to Lilyana, (and a couple of hundred such stories have already accumulated), one constantly comes up against all sorts of coincidences.  Well, they simply pile up to your ears.  Judge for yourself.

“…I was sick for 30 years, I don’t even know how many doctors I’ve been to…but after my visit to Lilyana, my luck turned for the better.  I came across a good doctor and he cured me…”

But you can still come across a good doctor without Lilyana.  It’s simply a coincidence!

“…my court case dragged on for three years.  But after Lilyana’s intervention, witnesses agreed to give their testimony and the case was won…”

Well, could there be any connection between the witnesses and Lilyana?  None whatsoever!  They never even saw one another.  It simply happened coincidentally!

For two years an immigration case hung around and of course it is unlikely that Lilyana could have any influence on immigration officers.  But nevertheless…

Let’s take a detailed look into several recent coincidences that were recorded in December of last year.

Coincidence 1.

Nina, 57, living in Montreal for 5 years, arrived from Kazakhstan in 1996.

“My dear ones – my daughter and granddaughter – stayed in Kazakhstan.  It was very difficult for me to bear our separation.  I looked for a way to get them into Canada.

“So in 1999 my husband figured out how my daughters could successfully pass their interview, but it dragged on for so long.  It took months to get any news from the Embassy; we had already lost all hope.

“Well, one fine day I was at my friend’s apartment, cleaning.  We spoke about this and that.  Then she told me:  ‘Listen, drop in on Lilyana, she’s my best friend’s sister.  She does all sorts of miracles.’

“To be frank, I have believed in mystical forces since my youth.  And I had nothing to lose – sleepless nights, everything getting on my nerves, and no more patience.  I went to her.  It was indescribable.  At first we couldn’t light the candles:  sometimes the matches wouldn’t light, sometimes the candles wouldn’t catch light.  She said that nothing was going well for me, that there was always some little obstacle in the way, ruining everything.  That was in July of 2001.  After some time, I went away for a couple of days.  When I returned, my daughter received a letter that the visas were ready and they could collect them.

“My joy knew no boundaries.  But it soon became clear that my son-in-law changed his mind: he didn’t want his visa and he refused to leave Kazakhstan.  So I went to Lilyana once again and we tried lighting the candles once again.  When put next to me, the candles burned with white flames, but when on the cards they smoked and turned black.

 “After my second visit, three weeks passed.  And here’s what happened…  My daughter is here…  She’s already arrived.  God keep Lilyana healthy.  And I had already lost all hope of seeing the people who are closest and dearest to me.”

Coincidence 2.

Liuba, 41, living in Montreal for 6 years, from Minsk.

“My husband is a truck driver.  Three years ago he had an accident.  It happened on the way between Ottawa and Toronto when an old woman pressed the gas instead of the breaks and crashed into the rear wheel of the truck.  The old woman came after my husband with a lawsuit to cover losses.  The suit was for 250 thousand dollars.  This story has been dragging on for 3 years.  All of this has cost us our nerves and health.  And main thing is that my husband wasn’t even at fault in this accident.  But the lawsuit was based on the fact that my husband inflicted emotional and physical damages on the “victim” (she had damaged her hand) and it was for material damages too (her car had been destroyed).

“And then, right before the court hearing, on the 24^th of November 2001, I was sitting in the kitchen and reading over our local newspaper when I stumbled upon an article.  Before I had even finished reading the article, I had the telephone in my hand.  I called Lilyana.  I told her:  ‘Help, I’m in trouble.’  She said she needed time to figure out if she could help.  Literally within a few seconds she named off two of my main troubles.  She saw what was in store for us for the future and for the lawsuit.

“She was very considerate to me.  She lit some candles, then she read out prayers and we read along with her.  The candles gave off some smoke.  Within 15-20 minutes I saw 2 red drops trickling down from the white candles.  I don’t know what it was, but it really scared me.  Lilyana’s hands were as cold as ice, and then she started yawning and after 35-40 minutes she started feeling sick.  We prayed for a long time.  Next, she charged some marbles with a prayer.  I cannot explain what I expected from these marbles, but I knew that they would have positive energy.  Then, she looked in her cards and said that all our court problems would turn out well.  She also uncovered that we had a close friend; she described him precisely and said that he should expect some serious problems with work and money.

“Not even a week had passed before all her predictions came true.  It was the 25^th of November when we were at Lilyana’s.  The same day we left for Toronto.  The court session had been designated at 9 o’clock in the morning on November 26^th.  Before the session began, my husband repeated his entire testimony to his lawyer, and then he went into the courtroom.  I was not allowed to go in.  I stayed in the hallway, waiting.  I squeezed one of the marbles in my hand and prayed, the whole time repeating, ‘Lord help us.’

“After an hour and a half, my husband came out of the courtroom and said:  ‘I don’t understand how or why, but two witnesses came out of nowhere.’  During the hearing, the testimony of the two witnesses was read out and they repeated my husband’s testimony word for word.  Afterwards, our lawyer approached us and he said there were testimonies read out at the hearing by two witnesses who had seen the accident, that the case was won and that within a few weeks’ time we would receive the court’s written decision.  The plaintiff would cover all expenses.

“Unfortunately, Lilyana’s predictions about our winning in court weren’t the only ones to turn out to be true.  The predictions about our friends did too – they really did fall into trouble with work, and consequently, with money too.

“You could say all of this is a coincidence, but I don’t believe in such coincidences.  People often ask for them, but they rarely get what they want.

“Before this experience, I had never heard of or read about Lilyana.  Now I know that many articles have been written about her.  But what is surprising is that it was precisely then, during such a difficulty time that someone slipped that newspaper into my hands and I got some real help. I wish to thank Lilyana.  Thank goodness there are people like you.  Thank goodness that there is someone to turn to in a time of trouble.”

Coincidence 3.

Iraida, living in Montreal for half a year, arrived from Moscow.

“More than 30 years ago I started having the most serious asthma attacks and no medicine could help.  During all those years I have been living on hormonal medication.

“At the time, I could not even have considered turning to one of these ‘wise women’, as they were called in the former Soviet Union.  In Moscow I worked as a director of a large library.  My husband was a diplomat.  We were far away from anything at all connected with all these charms, healers and fortune-tellers.

“And so I went to visit my daughter.  May be it was because of the change of climate in Montreal, but I started to get better.  But there were still attacks all the same.  And so my daughter, Sveta, told me that there is a healer who accomplishes all sorts of miracles:  ‘Let’s try it.’

“The first time I met Lilyana was in May of 2001.  I was starting to get worse by then.  Even the hormonal medicine stopped working.  Over the last half a year, Lilyana has been to see us three times.  Her first two visits were very difficult – the candles she lit for her prayers were burning blackly, even the wax pouring down them was black.

“The second visit was three weeks ago, and the last séance was actually today.  For the last half year I have almost stopped taking the hormonal tablets.  I reduced the dosage to 1/8^th of a tablet.  I haven’t felt this good in 30 years.  Today the candles “cried” wax again, but this time they were white.  There was no more wax or blackness running down the candles anymore. As for the improvement of my condition, this is not merely my subjective feeling.  My doctor suggested that I stop taking the hormonal medicine altogether. Of course, my improvement did not come about only on account of Lilyana.  After she had been to us the first time, an acquaintance suddenly appeared who recommended a good doctor to us.  The doctor recommended trying a new medicine that was only just starting to be used to treat asthma.  But for some reason, none of this happened until after that meeting with Lilyana. It is surprising that after so many years I came to the conclusion that I really needed a ‘healer’ like that.  But try to find another healer like her, especially one so young and energetic.”

Coincidence 4.

Irina, 45, living in Toronto for 25 years, arrived from Moscow.

“I don’t usually read the Russian press, but at some point a year ago I read a brief article about Lilyana and thought it did not resemble in any way what I had seen so far.  I thought that possibly I would go to Montreal someday and so I set the article aside. 

“Usually people turn to this type of help when they really need it – when they have lost all hope.  I felt so oppressed and found myself under such difficult circumstances.  My problems were of a global nature.  It is difficult for me to talk about it, these problems deal with my son.  It is extremely painful for me to speak about this; it’s like reopening wounds.  Besides, I have a private personality. And suddenly I impulsively decided to call.  I was able to find the newspaper article, which had been lying around for a year, and called.  But it was really tough to get through.  I didn’t manage to get a hold of her for several days.  All that time I was thinking ‘why am I calling, I am not really going to Montreal.’  Nevertheless, I got an answer.  The first thing that Lilyana said to me was, ‘Let me see if I can work with you,’ and she said two phrases that immediately let me know that I needed her.  All at once she knew or somehow sensed the cause of my trauma.  How it happened, I don’t know.  After all, she had never seen me before.  Lilyana said that she was planning on coming to Toronto and that I had called her at a good time.  I think that all of this was more than just a coincidence.

“I went to Lilyana with a lot of skepticism.  I left Russia before perestroika and was brought up as an atheist.  I had turned to diviners and fortunetellers prior to this, but my experience has shown that nothing good comes out of it – I came across charlatans or underhanded businesses.  What I saw of Lilyana made an impression on me though.  It’s clear that there’s something driving this person.  She’s gifted and will give you the strength and energy to live on.

“When Lilyana started explaining the cause of my problems, she became ill and started to have an allergic reaction.  I also felt ill.  I felt exactly what she was feeling.  She said that she would try to release me from the black magic.

“The next morning after our meeting my feeling of deep depression, which I had only just escaped from, returned.  I felt that I had to call her immediately.  At precisely that instant there came a ring.  She called me herself and immediately started explaining something quickly and unintelligibly.  She was very agitated.  You could just sense the panic in her voice.  My husband still hadn’t managed to leave for work and I could not carry on the discussion.  I just responded, ‘uh-huh, uh-huh.’  Lilyana said that a dead black cat was lying beneath her window and she started to cry.  She seemed to be very shaken.  What was connection between my visit and the black cat?  I am a person who has little to do with anything mystical.  To me, Lilyana’s confusing explanations seemed like something out of a horror movie.  A woman named Aiden, who had also come to Lilyana for help, turned out to be an accidental witness to all these events surrounding the cat.  When Lilyana could speak no more, she took the phone and recounted everything in detail.  

“Even before I went to see Lilyana I sensed that I had some kind of evil eye over me.  I had a whole heap of problems and they had an influence on everything else in my life.  Lilyana thinks that the black cat died because of some connection between the black magic and her incantation.  Somehow the poor little cat absorbed the negative energy and died.

“Life will show whether Lilyana succeeded in resolving my problems.  But the feeling remains with me that she has something that others do not.  It might be insight or special intuition and the ability for helping, the ability to convince that nothing is so hopeless, that there is a resolution to everything.  It’s the ability to give back the strength to resolve your problems.  She reminds me of Dznuna who was a well-known healer in the former USSR.  These are people who have the ability to cure.  Beyond any doubt Lilyana has this gift.”

A witness to Coincidence 4.

Natasha Kovalenko, living in Toronto for 5 years.

“I learned about Lilyana from my friend.  She had seen Lilyana two months earlier, the last time Lilyana had been in Toronto.  Lilyana said that ‘with the first snowfall’ Natasha would find work.  It’s been tough for computer programmers lately. And then the first snow fell in October.  That was only three weeks after Natasha’s visit to Lilyana.  On the very next day I called her jokingly to remind her:  ‘You were supposed to get some work – it snowed.’  And how surprised I was to hear that Natasha had just signed a contract, exactly the day after the first snowfall.

“After that, I decided to turn to Lilyana for help.  I called her in Montreal.  I was interested in my relations with a young man who I had just broken up with not long ago.  I was suffering a lot.  Lilyana figured out what my problem was on the telephone and we agreed to meet.

“I was supposed to meet with her on the 9^th of December at 10 am.  I came a little earlier.  What I saw was a very agitated Lilyana.  She found a dead black cat, right beneath her window.  We both went outside and noticed how two women were carrying it away.  Lilyana started to weep bitterly.  She said that the cat was dead and that there was something fishy about it because the night before she had a woman over to see her and she helped her to get rid of some black magic.

“We decided to discover whose cat it was.  Unexpectedly, on one of the one-story houses we saw an announcement that a black cat had been lost.  We knocked at the door, but no one answered.  As we walked back, an incredibly clean white mitten lay in our path.  Lilyana immediately settled down.  She told me that she had heard a voice telling her, ‘you are as pure as a child, you can work again.’

“As Lilyana explained to me, sorcery possessed the cat and it died.  Of course, one can question all of this.”

*     *     *     *

It would be interesting to speak with Irina in a year.  Will anything have changed in her life?  Many times, Lilyana has told me that one, and sometimes two or three visits are not enough.  It all depends on how much ‘filth’ has accumulated within a person and how quickly she can manage to ‘scrape this filth away.’  Best of all is when a steady effect is attained.  “She came to be cleaned.  So I scrubbed her and scrubbed her yesterday, but if she waits a month … well let’s start all over again.”

It is hoped that this time Lilyana was able to “scrape the filth away” and that a lot has changed for the better in Irina’s life so that the helpless black cat did not die in vain.  By the way, in medieval literature one often finds black-coloured animals – cats, dogs, and ravens – being used in the capacity of a guardian.  And if white magic, in the mortal struggle with a wizard, manages to remove the evildoer’s curse from the victim, then all the force of this curse pounces upon the animal guardian and it dies.  I think that Coincidence 4 could have a direct relation to this, but I cannot be certain.  All too often the paradoxical statements and actions of Lilyana end up becoming true.  But then again, perhaps this chain of events could be nothing more than a mere series of paradoxical coincidences.

Israel Kotenko

Montreal