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Benjamin Franklin wrote, "In this world, nothing is
certain but death and taxes." Accurate
maybe, but hardly encouraging.
Isaac Asimov, one of the leading science fiction authors
of the last century, expounded on the subject by stating:
"The only constant is change, continuing
change, inevitable change; that is the
dominant factor in society today. No
sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only
the world as it is, but the world as it will be." Well, everybody, get out your crystal balls!
President Barack Obama, promises to bring change to a
country and a world needing and demanding it.
But what does this really mean?
Can "change" be controlled? Do we order up the changes we want like
entrees off a menu?
An annual survey by the American Psychological
Association in December concluded that 80 percent of Americans are stressed
about their personal finances and the economy.
As a medium, I have worked to develop my sensitivities, and
these days, the "white noise" of fear and anxiety is so deafening that sometimes
I want to plug my spiritual ears.
All of us, though, are being affected, even if we're not
entirely aware of it. The results of an
automobile insurance study, showed that claims are up during economic
downturns. We might assume that this is
due to fraud, but in actuality it is because people are distracted, drinking more
and driving while emotionally upset.
A friend of mine who is generally very happy, has a
secure job, owns his home free and clear, recently told me, "I've been waking
up in the middle of the night with anxiety and I don't have anything to worry
about!"
So what can we do about all this? Will we ever sleep peacefully again?
These questions prompted me to start thinking about the
ways those in spirit dealt with their challenges on the earth in their pasts,
and how they can help us face our futures.
During the last 15 years or so, I've spoken to many on
the other side who experienced cataclysmic change and upheaval in their
lifetimes. I've heard from those who
suffered with starvation in the Holocaust, those who died in 9/11 and some who
struggled to survive during the Depression.
All of these communications have commonalities, which when combined, can
serve as an antidote to the anxiety which is destroying our peace of mind.
That antidote is HOPE:
HELP from the
other side
OPENNESS to
receiving messages
PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY - Knowing what you can and cannot do
ETERNAL
PERSPECTIVE - Learning how Spirit works
HELP FROM THE
OTHER SIDE
Those we love living on the other side of life are
involved with our everyday lives. For
many of us, that is the good news. But
others, who may have had a troubled relationship with mother, father, sister or
brother, this might seem like the bad news!
A woman wrote to me asking, "Why would I want my family around me when
all they did was hurt me when they were here?"
The simple answer is; by their being
involved and by helping you with the situations you face in your life (some of
which may be due to their actions), they bring healing to you, themselves and
the family line.
Recently during a session, a mother in spirit told her
daughter that she had helped with the sale of a high end vacation property. The mother mentioned problems that had come
up during the negotiations (all which were validated) and said that she had
helped move the sale forward.
Interestingly enough, this lady in spirit had made lots of money in real
estate during her lifetime, but in her will, had refused to give any of the
property to her daughter. Spirit's
help not only made a sale possible in a challenging real estate market, but
established a different, more loving and supportive mother/daughter
relationship, one that continues beyond death.
During an appointment, a woman's father in spirit said
that he wanted her to have his watch (a Mickey Mouse watch, by the way). The woman sat there and told me in no
uncertain terms that this was impossible because her mother refused to ever
take that watch off. No way, no how
would she be getting that watch anytime soon.
Well, her father told me (and I passed along the message, despite all
the nay saying by the sitter), that he would help convince her mother to hand
over the watch. Imagine this lady's
surprise when while visiting her mother at a later date, her sister said out of
the blue, "Mom, why don't you give Dad's watch to Sally?" Without a word, her mother took off the watch
and gave it to her with a smile.
Now how could this happen?
Well, just consider how our behavior here on the earth is
influenced by the moods of those around us and even by the advertising for
products we didn't even know we needed.
We're receiving thousands of messages in various ways every day. Well, spirits use the "airwaves" as well to
get their points across. Their
vibrations are of a high and more subtle kind, but everyone walking the earth
is a receiver. Some of us are more
practiced receivers than others, but spirits are persistent (after all, they
have eternity). Those in spirit can
connect with us through thought, guide us by "coincidence" and circumstance and influence those around us
to bring about a desired result.
Which brings us to our next topic:
OPENNESS TO RECEIVING MESSAGES - -
Our loved ones make an effort to re-establish
communication and let us know that they've survived death. There are dramatic reports - - "He appeared to me right after he died, but
before the police came," as well as more prosaic ones - - "I smelled Old Spice
and Camels and just knew it was my father."
Please take a moment and consider the times when you
thought someone you loved was trying to say, "Hello." Was there a familiar smell in the air? Did you feel compelled to turn on the radio
just in time to hear a favorite song?
Has a family photo tipped over or moved?
I couldn't even begin to list the thousands of ways that
those we love send greetings from the other side. The "hellos" are often as individual and
distinct as the spirits sending them.
However, I often hear concerns people have when they get a sign from the
other side. There are always questions
like, "I feel my father around me. Does
he want me to do something? " "I keep
seeing a crow sitting on my son's car.
Is he telling me not to ever sell it?"
Let me assure you that most signs are very simple - -
nothing more than to let you know that those you love have "made it" to the
other side, they're fine and they're around.
However, many people are becoming more aware of how those
living beyond death are helping to guide us with our life decisions. The more challenging the economy, the more
stressful the times we live in, the more those in spirit want to let us know
that they're there to help if we're open to receiving that help.
Here's a perfect example of what can happen when we ask
for Spirit's guidance:
When a man came to me for a sitting, as soon as he sat
down, his tall, lanky, extremely nearsighted father in spirit who smoked only
Marlboros, came through with a message about the numbers relating to a recent
contract. The man's eyes opened wide
and he said, "That's why I came to see you!"
His father went on to say that he had been providing help with an
insurance issue because he had been an insurance salesman. The sitter confirmed that this was indeed
true. While comparing life insurance
policies he asked his Dad for help. Even
though he wasn't sure he was getting a clear answer back, he felt led to choose
one company in particular. So he applied
and the actual policy arrived in the mail on his father's birthday. The reason for our session was to see if his
father had been helping him or if the timing had just been a coincidence.
I've been doing this work long enough to know that there
are synchronicities, but no coincidences!
What can you do to be more open to hearing from those you
love in spirit?
First of all, don't concentrate too hard! Spirits find it easiest to get through when
we're not busy setting up our own agendas.
Telling your loved one exactly how and when to communicate with you
isn't an effective strategy. Don't be
demanding, be willing.
And secondly, don't worry about missing a message. Those in spirit will get their point across -
- and sometimes can be down right annoying until you get it. For example, a father and son living together
had their TV going on night after night - - at 3:00
a.m.! This was the time their wife and
mother (now in spirit) went to bed after watching television. Of course the father kept trying to come up
with other explanations - - well, maybe the neighbor's remote is
malfunctioning. Yeah, right. When the son acknowledged that there were no
other reasonable explanations, the annoyance stopped. Was it Mom saying, "Hello?" Oh yes, you bet!
And finally, keeping a record of what you think may or
may not be communications from spirit can be helpful. Sometimes one or two instances can be
explained away. However, a series of
instances, their timing and context can help you to identify a pattern of
communication which can't be denied. Do
the signs increase around a certain holiday or birthday? Also, note the types of communications (music?
humorous incidents? electronic
disturbances?) can help to identify who is saying, "Hi!"
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
The more I work with those in spirit (and also those in
with physical bodies), the more I realize that personal responsibility is the
key to living in freedom from fear and creating and maintaining balance between
the seen and unseen.
My favorite definition of freedom is this: Freedom is the opportunity to be responsible
for oneself. Now notice that freedom is
the "opportunity to be
responsible." Where I see the most pain and distress around
life, dying and death is the result of confusion regarding where responsibility
lies.
Spirit is often very clear on issues of personal
responsibility, where we should spend (or not spend) our energy, especially
when it comes to their own transitions to life after life.
Almost always during a session, spirits talk about who
was or wasn't there at the time of their passing. In my experience, it works out that about
50% of the time those who come to see me are with their loved one at the time
of passing. 50% are not. Spirits seem to want to address this issue
because it is often the cause of unnecessary guilt. Would our presence have made a difference? It is especially difficult if a family member
has been holding vigil, leaves for a minute only to find out that the loved one
passed while they were getting a cup of coffee or going to the bathroom!
Those we love make the transition when they need to - -
and it is not according to our timeline or expectations. There
are some spirits who can hold on until all the family members arrive and others
who leave without a "goodbye." Sometimes
the physical body can simply no longer hold together with the faster vibrating
spirit. And sometimes those we love
simply want to protect us from the moment of change.
A particularly defining moment came during a session
between a father and daughter. The
father had taken himself over to the other side and the daughter had found his
body. She exclaimed, "When he killed
himself, he killed me!" The pain and
anguish in that statement hit me with physical force. Her father drew close to me and whispered in
my ear, "Tell her that she isn't dead, so she can't say I killed her." The words were out of my mouth before I
could think. All of a sudden his
daughter started to laugh because the statement was so ridiculous. And through her laughter he went on, "Tell
her she can't own my death. I'm very
sorry for the ways I hurt her, but I can't stand here and let her hurt herself
any longer because of the way I died."
Well said. We can't take
responsibility for another spirit's choices in life . . . or
in death.
Personal responsibility is addressed in many ways during
communications from Spirit. In fact, it
seems that the clarity received after passing starts with understanding where
we did or did not use the opportunity to be responsible in a life giving and
loving way. I could fill a book with
communications on this subject (and maybe I will).
And finally - -
ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE - Learning how Spirit Works
People are living longer now than ever before in history
(except for perhaps Methusaleh and other Old Testament figures). However, this by no means, gives us a sense
of the eternal. Because of our physical and
temporal existence, we're inclined to view life with limitations and use
spirituality as a just another way to get our needs met. Can those in spirit help me get a job? Find the perfect mate? Figure out what to do with my 401K?
As illustrated by the examples above, it is clear that
those in spirit are actively interested in our lives, and, yes, even help guide
in a practical way. But please don't
mistake that interest for license to order those in spirit to make your wish
their command.
The world of spirit operates differently.
Take money, for instance. Finances seem to be on the minds of many
people who come to see me. Spirits will
often comment on their own relationship to money while they were in the
physical. When a granddaughter asked her
grandmother in spirit, "Nana, what should I do with my money?" Nana said she should stuff it in her mattress
because the banks can't be trusted.
Interestingly enough, after Nana's death, her mattress was found stuffed
with money. In this case, though, it
wasn't literal advice, but a reflection of the times that Nana lived in and
evidence that we were speaking with her.
In actuality, the world of Spirit doesn't deal with
money. We truly can't take it with
us. So asking Spirit to provide money is
like asking someone who lives in the Sahara Desert to bring you some snow.
Spirit does, however, work with the energy of abundance
and its opposite, lack. So rather than
ask those in Spirit to plump up your bank account so that you can buy a car, it
is much more effective to ask for help in getting suitable transportation. And then being willing to accept how things
happen rather than trying to dictate how the Universe will provide.
During lunch one day, a friend of mine mentioned that he
really needed a newer, more reliable car.
Shortly after that, his car was totaled in an accident (he wasn't hurt),
but the insurance money wouldn't go very far to replace the car. Out of the blue, a relative called and asked
if my friend would like his Toyota which was only a few years old because he'd
decided to give up driving due to a sight problem. No money was owed on the car and it was a
gift with no strings attached.
How can something like this happen?
Because Spirit deals in possibility, not
probability. Just think of it this
way. Here on the earth plane, the best
psychics are life insurance agents. They
can take your age, your weight, your habits and family history and pretty much
predict when you're going to die. They
deal in statistics and probabilities.
Spirits, on the other hand, live entirely in the realm of possibility -
- they aren't fettered by physical limitations as we are. Consequently, there are a variety of
solutions to a situation, rather than merely a predictable outcome.
Spirits rejoice in the element of surprise and celebrate
irony. I can't help but think of the
Connecticut man who bought a winning lotto ticket on the day he died. His wife almost discarded the ticket, but
something made her check the numbers.
His children think that their father would appreciate the irony. What are the odds of buying a $10M winning
ticket on the day of your death?
That's possibility, not probability . . .
There are many misconceptions we have about how the other
side works with us, many more than I can address in shortened form. Educate yourself in the ways of spirit and
apply those principles to your life here.
Think in terms of abundance, not in terms of currency. Keep an attitude of gratitude and there will
be more to be grateful for. Be willing
to give and receive love, knowing that there is an unending well from which to
draw - - the well of eternity.
In these times of uncertainty and in a world of change,
those in spirit want us, most of all, to have HOPE.
Note: All stories
have been used with permission and/or have been altered to protect the privacy
of those involved.
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