Dear Friends,

Decoration Day, which later became Memorial Day, began as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation following the Civil War.  Graves were festooned with wreaths and ribbons in honor of those from both sides who gave their lives in the conflict.  After World War I, this day of remembrance expanded to honoring Americans who died in all wars.

With Memorial Day approaching, I got to thinking about memorials in general.  During sessions, loved ones in spirit often mention funerals, memorial services and the many ways that we choose to remember them.  However, as always, the way spirits look at things is different, and in some ways, surprising.  In this month's article, I Will Remember You, I share the spirits' unusual perspective.

Immediately after Memorial Day weekend, I head to New York (Manhattan and Long Island) for a series of events including demonstrations, spirit circles and book signings.  There are still a few private sessions available as well.  I'm looking forward to returning to my hometown.

From mid to late June I head out to Denver, Colorado and then onto San Francisco in July.  As events become confirmed, they will be posted on the website and on Facebook.  If you would like to help arrange an event in Colorado or the San Francisco area, please contact my assistant, Claire at info@HollisterRand.com.

On this Memorial Day and always, know that those you love in spirit remember you as well.

Love Lives On,

Hollister Rand

"Can my granddaughter see what her headstone looks like?" I was asked during a recent session.  The young, very energetic spirit showed me a dark headstone with more than one name and initials as well.  The gravesite was shared with two of her siblings, and the initials stood for "R2D2," the robot in the Star Wars films.   

The word "memorial" is defined as "something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc." 

Many of us agonize over the best way to remember those we love in spirit.  How can we begin to preserve the many memories shared over a lifetime? 

The spirits often describe to me the things we do to preserve their memories and help us feel closer to them; the dried roses saved from a funeral wreath, a quilt made of favorite t-shirts, a necklace containing ashes.  At a small spirit circle just a few days ago, a mother in spirit gave me a detailed description of a grouping of photos with a vase of roses nearby other mementos of her life on earth.  Her daughter confirmed the description by saying, "Yes, that's her shrine!"  This loving mother, however, wasn't willing to dwell on the past and her death.  She proceeded to discuss issues that her daughter was facing and made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that she remains as interested in her daughter's life as she always was.

The memorials we create for loved ones (whether in a garden, in a cemetery or on a mantle) are only important to loved ones as a starting point for demonstrating that a relationship with them continues in a new and different way.  When a father in spirit mentioned an heirloom pocket watch displayed next to his photo, the next thought was how proud he is that his son is expanding the family business.  A son in spirit who died in Iraq mentioned that his father wore jewelry of his (dog tags) and then expressed concern that all the smoke detectors in the house be checked (so that the house wouldn't burn down as it had once before).

Just as death isn't the end of life, memorials don't mark the end of memories being created.  A father in spirit told me that his daughter set a place for him at her wedding banquet.  He then went on to say that he's glad that's she went to Hawaii for her honeymoon where he and her mother celebrated theirs.  This father participated in the wedding celebration by mentioning that he walked his daughter down the aisle.

Life continues and loved ones in spirit continue to share in the celebrations of our lives.

For instance, the young girl in spirit I mentioned at the beginning of the article, joined with her brothers in spirit in describing a photo montage and card that they were helping their grandmother make.  Well, it turns out that they almost gave away a surprise that their grandmother was making for their mother's Mother's Day celebration.  (Their mom was on the phone call, too.)  By co-creating that gift for their mother, these three beautiful young spirits took something that might have been a memorial and turned it into a memory in the making.

Instead of preserving memories this Memorial Day, let's remember that those we love in spirit are sharing in our lives and our new memories.

For those of you on Facebook, please share how you will include loved ones in your celebrations this Memorial Day weekend.