Spirit Speaks: Receiving After-Death Communication
By Carole J. Obley
Several clients who have come to me for mediumship readings have experienced contact with deceased relatives and other spirits through physical phenomena that occurred in their homes, vehicles, yards and workplaces. Many others connect with the spirit world through dreams. The common thread that runs through these experiences is that they all happened without assistance from a medium. During the question and answer portion of my group mediumship seminars, people often share their personal experiences. I never cease to be amazed at how the spiritual and physical worlds blend to produce astounding, often unexplainable signs and synchronicities.
The term “after-death communication” or “ADC” – first coined by Bill and Judy Guggenheim in Hello from Heaven (Bantam Books, 1997) – is defined as a spiritual experience that takes place when a person is contacted directly and spontaneously by a family member or friend who has died. From what I’ve observed in my work, the essence of the message being communicated by these manipulations or “calling cards” is “Hello! I’m here!” or “Pay attention to this!”
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These messages frequently bring comfort to relatives of the communicating spirits because they give evidence of life after death. In many readings, spirits impress me to tell loved ones that it is indeed they who are producing these occurrences. For example, a spirit may give validation that he is communicating with his wife by ringing the phone or doorbell. Some spirits will place or move objects in loved ones’ homes to grab their attention. Others give messages about the appearance of specific birds or animals in relatives’ yards. The timing of these communications sometimes coincides with events like birthdays or anniversaries of the recipients or the spirits. I know of one family that receives validation from their son through various means on the date of his passing every year.
Spiritually speaking, what purpose does an ADC serve? After hearing many of these stories, I believe loved ones in spirit want us to know they survived death and that they are still with us. This brings peace of mind and facilitates healing from grief. ADC’s are heavenly signs that we are not alone and proof of a higher plane of existence than the earthly one—giving us hope, comfort and reassurance. The synchronicity of these messages reinforces our connection to the spirit world, which is always part of our consciousness whether or not we are aware of it. Also, ADC’s serve as wake-up calls about life issues and challenges we face, such as illness and financial or emotional difficulties.
Frequently unexplainable by physical laws, they remind us that not everything is definable by science as we presently know it, although more research is currently being done on the subject of ADC and mediumship.
My work reveals that the most fundamental tool in healing grief is awareness of the continuity of life after death. Much like having a reading with a medium, ADC’s powerfully reinforce life after death by creating an undeniable link (because they are visual or auditory) between the spiritual and physical worlds. Spirit beings are continually around us and are quite persistent in their attempts to contact us. ADC’s assist in this process. To help you better understand how this happens, I’ve organized this type of communication into categories according to the particular “vehicle” that spirits use to convey their presence.
Electricity
Spirits can manipulate lights and electrical equipment to get our attention. I’ve talked with numerous people who have had these experiences happen in their homes, offices and cars. Interestingly, many of these episodes occur when they are thinking of or having a conversation about a deceased relative. Lights may dim, flash or go off completely. Computers, stoves, toasters, TVs and radios may temporarily malfunction, even though they were previously in good working order. They may turn off and on or make strange noises.
Adele, grieving over the unexpected loss of her husband, told me that the hallway light next to their bedroom flickered consistently not long after his passing. Despite checking the bulb and its tightness in the socket, she could find no reason for this to happen. She believed it was his way, among other signs he gave her, of bringing comfort.
The lights in my reading room occasionally flicker when I do private sessions. I once did a reading for a woman whose grandmother came through and in which the lights and the tape recorder in my reading room went out for a few minutes then came back on. We both laughed as I thanked the grandmother for allowing the session to continue being taped. I’ve received correspondence from clients who are discouraged to find that part of the cassette tape from their session did not record. This has happened on two different recorders with high quality recording tapes. What is interesting about this phenomenon is that portions of the tape record, while others don’t. Nowadays, I advise clients to take notes as back-up to the tapes. I have no explanation for this occurrence other than electromagnetic interference of spirits’ energy.
I once did a demonstration of mediumship for a group in a pub setting on a Sunday when the business was closed. Halfway through the two-hour program, the video game beside the bar spontaneously started to play, emitting loud, electronic beeping sounds. We were initially startled then amused because it was an obvious confirmation of the message I was delivering at that moment. I resumed giving messages only to have my assistant’s travel alarm clock on a nearby table buzz. I joked that the group must have some particularly noisy relatives who wanted to party that day!
Telephones
Another common way for spirits to communicate is through the phone. In these types of ADC’s, a deceased loved one’s voice may be heard, the line may be silent, or a voice imprint is left on an answering machine. Several years ago a lovely, older German woman came for a reading in which her late husband said that he “calls” her telephone answering machine. I asked her if this had happened and she said no. She later told me that two days after the reading, she returned home to see her answering machine message light flashing. When she tried to retrieve it, an eerie sound like none she’d ever heard was on the tape. She believed it was her husband calling her as promised in the reading.
Moving Objects
One night while watching White Noise, a movie about a man who receives spirit communication through his TV, Ginny heard a loud crash in her hallway. When she ran to investigate, she discovered that a portrait of herself that had hung for years undisturbed above the staircase had inexplicably fallen and come out of its frame. Shaken by the experience, Ginny called me to see if I could provide insight about who in the spirit world might be trying to contact her. During the session, her mother – a strong, controlling woman – came through and admitted that she had moved the painting to make Ginny aware that she was helping her with her troubled marriage to an alcoholic man. It was not a coincidence that Ginny had received this message when she was watching a movie about after-death communication; it was the best time for her mother to get her attention.
Scents
Probably the most common way for spirits to reach us is through scent. Many people have shared stories with me about smelling a particular scent that they associated with a deceased relative or friend. Flowers, especially roses, are the most frequent. After-shave and perfume come next, followed by cigarette or cigar smoke. Not by coincidence, our sense of smell is closely tied to our memory of people, places and events and can activate these codes in our brains. I believe this association is how and why spirits can communicate with us effectively by using scent. An interesting observation I’ve made is that spirits are capable of producing scent through telepathy; in other words, they impress a scent – such as lilacs or a certain brand of perfume – on our minds. The best way
I know how to describe this experience is that it is like remembering what something smells like even if the memory is from years ago.
Nature
One of the most fascinating ways that spirit beings communicate is through nature, including the repeated appearance of certain birds, animals and insects. I have given many readings in which spirits deliver messages about a particular species of bird coming close to the house or being in the yard of loved ones as a
messenger from heaven. For example, a woman’s father came through in her session and said that he would send bright red, male cardinals to her yard. The woman readily acknowledged that these beautiful birds regularly flutter against her front window. She knew it was a sign from her dad, as he’d always loved cardinals.
In addition to the ones I’ve written about here, there are other avenues of communication the spirit world uses- synchronicities, dream visitations and inspiration. These astonishing occurrences connect souls in the physical plane and those in the non-physical world. I’ve discovered these happen at the discretion of the communicating spirits, despite people asking for them. Many people find these signs particularly comforting while grieving because they offer compelling evidence that their deceased loved ones are around them. Watch, wait and remain alert to receive your own messages.
Excerpted from I’m Still with You: True Stories of Healing Grief through Spirit Communication, by Carole J. Obley, www.6th-books.com
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