Life Choices

Sometimes even when you know that spirit is using you to help teach another, there comes a point when you cannot teach what needs to be learned unless the seeker is willing to examine their thinking and make changes that will enable them to take in the lessons that are required.

It seems to me that there are many instances in life where one is presented with teachers who come with messages and lessons with which we are not yet ready to accept. This being the case, life is like a series of choices—like what is behind door number one, door number two, and door number three. It is not that the lessons will not eventually be learned, but rather that the road we take or the door we pick depends on how we see our life situation at the time.

One of the hardest things for newcomers to Spiritualism to realize is that thoughts are energy. They are concrete things and they affect others around us, so much, that we should be aware of how we think… Many folks are holding on to old, counter-productive thought patterns that result in them repeating the same experiences many times over in their lives. As frustrating as this might be for us, we must understand that themes repeat themselves in life when we have yet to learn the lesson behind the experience that is brought to the fore.

Even as we do understand that this is how the universe works, there are times when we just do not want to deal with certain aspects of life experience that builds character. Regardless we are usually required to deal with the life lesson sooner or later and so how we do so is up to us. Life is like a huge road map and the route we take is not predestined but rather is a changeable course as we go that depends on our life choices.

Remembering My First Spirit Contact/ Communication

A dark cold night in mid October 1980 would change my life forever… It was Thanksgiving. Family were seated around the table eating the turkey dinner that mom had slaved over all day… Right in the middle of the meal, we got the call that I was dreading… It was the hospital calling to tell us that we needed to come see grandpa as soon as possible as they did not think he would last the night…

I remember just staring at my food… I was numb, in shock and emotions were surging that I could not express… Then I remember demanding to be allowed to go to the hospital to see grandpa… Mom was against it, dad said nothing, but I insisted… As I recall it was the longest cab ride in my life… Dad had been drinking wine with supper. He could not drive so we went in a cab to the hospital…

I remember being so quiet in the cab and still quiet as we rode the elevator to grandpa’s floor and walked into room. When we entered grandpa was quiet and had a glow about him, as I have never seen with anyone before or since that time. When he realized we were there, he began to talk about seeing all the relatives “in the big house”. Dad and I did not know what to make of it because grandpa was talking about people who had passed away 30 or 40 years earlier!

As I watched this strong man who was now so fragile laying on the bed, I began to see white smoke like substance surround his body starting at his head and moving down his body until it was a 3 inch layer just above him but still attached at the head. I had no idea what I was seeing then, but he was peaceful so I knew that it was not a bad thing that was happening. (Now I know this is the spirit body, but at the time I was only 11 and did not know anything about spirit.)

As I continued to watch, his glow intensified until I could no longer look directly at him on the bed… I just stood there dumbfounded and reached out to touch him… When I did that, I could feel the mist around him. It was warm and tingled at my touch…. Strange but even then, I was not afraid. The feeling was comforting and familiar… It felt like grandpa’s touch-- it kept me calm… the whole time we were in the room. As I watched, the spirit body float in and out of grandpa’s body I noticed that the only place where it did not fully leave the physical body was the head. This fluctuation lasted the whole time we were in the room.

I remember dad being very quiet and I could see tears building. It was the first time I recall seeing my father cry. I think it was this that was more upsetting than seeing grandpa in the state he was in. I did wonder for years after though if grandpa felt any pain once out of the body. He was dying of cancer of the bladder and was on morphine to numb the physical pain of the disease than had ravaged his now frail body.

When it was time to leave, I recall that I did not want to go. I just knew that this was the last time I would have with my grandfather. It took everything I had to walk out of that room and make my way to the elevator. As I stood in the door way, I looked back and saw that grandpa had fallen into a peaceful sleep and that he was smiling.

That night, around 3 am in the morning I woke from a sound sleep and saw grandpa at the foot of my bed… He now appeared to be strong and smiling, but he had come to say goodbye. It was time for him to go. And, he wanted me to know that he was ready to go to spirit. As much as I did not want him to leave, the message also gave me an incredible sense of calm that I carried with me for many months after his death.

Later that morning, I remember being outside walking and looking at the orange, yellow, and read leaves of the autumn trees…I was numb and I could not imagine my life with grandpa gone. He was my friend, my confidant, and my role model. Little did I know that his passing would be only the beginning of my spiritual adventure!

Thank you grandpa for helping me open the door to spirit communication that is so much a part of my life as a Spiritualist medium and healer!