A Magickal Journey
It’s not all floating sheets!
Some people see ghosts. Some people hear them. But there are many other ways we can receive messages from others, including spirits on the “other side.”
There are many stories of psychic encounters in dreams. Sometimes, people are sent cute reminders, in the form of a number, or an unusual word, or a favorite tune.
Others know that they were helped by a guardian angel, a deceased friend or relative, or some other spiritual entity (other than Deity), in times of danger or crisis.
Dreams
A surprising number of people have had contact with the “other side” in dreams.
Of course, it’s easy for people to hear these stories and say, “Oh, you just wanted to hear from so-and-so.”
However, some of the most compelling proof of valid communication in dreams, appears among genealogists. These are the people who trace people’s family trees, or ancestry.
Many genealogists have received messages and clues from people they’ve never met. They’ll hear a voice from nowhere, when searching dusty library files. At other times, a book falls open to just the right page, and it seems more than coincidence. Or a microfilm was in the wrong box, and “by accident,” the researcher discovers the records he’d been searching for, for weeks or longer.
Several report a visit, in a dream, from the (deceased) relative whose records they’re searching for. In the dream, the relative tells the researcher exactly where to look.
Upon checking this resource, the records are found. (Some of these stories are at Serendipity: Genealogical discoveries with a little help from above.)
Other people report lengthy and lucid conversations, in dreams, with people who’ve passed on.
In some cases, the friend or relative provides an important message or warning to the living, which changes the course of future events.
There are too many of these kinds of events, to dismiss them as “coincidence,” or wishful thinking.
Reminders
Ask just a few people, and you’ll quickly find someone who says something such as, “Oh, every time I hear [a particular song], I know that Aunt Janie is thinking of me.” It’s easy to raise an eyebrow at this sort of claim, but…is it really such an unlikely communication?
My mother is convinced that her uncanny ability to find convenient parking spaces in crowded lots, is due to the assistance of her late father.
Infrequently, someone reports a telephone call from a deceased relative. Usually, the message is brief and perhaps cryptic. Sometimes, they carry on a short conversation before the line becomes eerily quiet, or a dial tone interrupts.
Others have had the unsettling experience of receiving a letter, apparently days, months, or even years after the sender had died.
It’s more reasonable when someone “just happens” to find a loved one’s journal, or a stack of old letters that convey important information. However, did they really find the papers by coincidence?
Interventions
By far the most dramatic encounters with the “other side” are when a ghost or spirit manifests fully, at a time of danger.
Ask firefighters and policemen who’ve seen “miracles” occur in situations where death or injury seemed inevitable.
Many of these stories will include a helpful person who “appeared out of nowhere,” and disappeared just as mysteriously.
Now and then, the person who escaped injury–or his/her family–will explain that the description of the mysterious stranger matches someone who passed on, long before the near-tragedy. There is usually a tell-tale item, such as a favorite dress, or a distinctive hat or tie, which makes the appearance particularly difficult to explain in reasonable terms.
Conclusions?
Combine the many stories of “ghosts,” apparent hauntings, and messages received in dreams or by “coincidence.” Add the miracles, where someone escapes harm, or perhaps death, thanks to the intervention of a mysterious stranger, who’s description matches someone on the “other side.”
It is nearly impossible to avoid the conclusion that–at the very least–there are a large number of things that science and skeptics cannot explain.
It is even more difficult to argue with someone who has had a ghostly encounter, that they simply imagined it, or unconsciously embellished a perfectly natural event.
The explanation…?
In time, we may understand some of what we now call “paranormal.” Until then, most of us will experience a slight shiver when a ghost story sounds almost too true. And, at Halloween and other times when the veil between our world and the “other side” are supposed to be especially thin, we’ll question odd coincidences and experiences and wonder if there really are ghosts.