spirit
The Spiritual Implications Of The Lazarus Syndrome
Recently, while watching the 2008 film The Lazarus Project, I was reminded of the paranormal phenomenon of near-death experiences (NDEs) and became intrigued by the possibility of someone coming back to life after death.
The plot of the movie is about a man who is given a second chance at life after being executed for a crime. Despite being lethally injected, he somehow wakes up in a psychiatric hospital and must overcome a series of mysterious and mystical challenges to be reunited with his family.
The title, of course, refers to the story in John 11 of a man named Lazarus who was raised from the dead by Jesus after four days. While the plot of the movie does not directly parallel the biblical story, it does draw on the themes of resurrection and second chances.
My newfound curiosity soon led me to discover a documented medical phenomenon known as “Lazarus Syndrome.” Also known as the “Lazarus phenomenon” or “autoresuscitation,” it is a rare medical condition in which a person spontaneously comes back to life after all attempts at resuscitation have failed and the person has been pronounced dead.
The phenomenon was first noted in medical literature in 1982 by Finnish anesthesiologist Dr. Kalevi Linko, who described it as the spontaneous return of circulation after resuscitation efforts have ceased. The term “Lazarus phenomenon” was later popularized by Dr. John Francis Bray in 1993, who used the biblical reference to describe these rare cases of patients who spontaneously return to life.
Understanding The Higher Self
In modern spirituality and metaphysics, the concept of the “higher self” is generally considered a cornerstone of spiritual awareness and conscious living.
The idea that we have a “higher self” is found in many spiritual and mystical traditions, although it may be called by different names and understood in different ways.
Despite these differences, the underlying idea is that there is a higher, more enlightened aspect of our being that we can connect with and embody.
Often mentioned in discussions of intuition, mindfulness, enlightenment, and the search for deeper meaning, the higher self is seen as a guiding force or eternal soure of wisdom that transcends our everyday consciousness.
Yet despite the common use of this term in modern spiritual communities and teachings, there remains a great deal of confusion and variation in how the higher self is understood and interpreted. There are many different opinions and beliefs. Some see it as our inner connection to the divine or universal consciousness. Others see it as the true spiritual essence, free from the limitations of the human ego. And some simply see it as an alternative term for our eternal spirit or soul identity.
In my experience, most of the confusion and misunderstanding arises because the higher self is mistakenly seen as a distinct and separate entity from the soul or spirit. From this perspective, the higher self is seen as entirely separate from our soul, representing our connection to something greater than ourselves, to the divine or universal consciousness.
Guiding Earthbound Souls To The Light
Early one morning I received a message from one of my clients saying that her close friend had been shot and killed before dawn that day. She wanted to know if I could try to communicate with her friend.
I suspected that it was far too early for spirit contact of any kind, but I promised to see what I could do.
Later in the day I tried to make the connection as promised. I immediately sensed that I was dealing with a soul who was stuck in this world, not quite sure where she was or what had happened after such a sudden death.
I informed my client that we needed to help her friend find her way to the other side, to the light. I asked her to assist me remotely in guiding her friend as it would help to have someone familiar present.
Her friend was still earthbound and our guidance and prayers would help her, even if she chose to stay close to her loved ones for the time being and make her presence known until they could find some peace with her sad and sudden passing.
I began our session with a calm, focused meditation, visualizing a warm, radiant light that would guide her friend. As we sent our thoughts and prayers, I felt a subtle shift in the energy around us. It was as if the room had brightened, filled with a calm, comforting presence.
My client shared some of her fondest memories of her friend, speaking with love and gratitude. This act seemed to create a powerful bridge of light, a connection that her friend’s spirit could use to find her way.
The Calling Cards Of Spirit Whispers
When I was a teenager, my father said in a very serious tone, “I want to talk to you about something important.
My immediate thought was, I hope this is not going to be a cringe-worthy talk about the birds and the bees. Please let it not be!
But fortunately it was not about the facts of life. Instead, it was an enlightening conversation about spiritualism and the afterlife.
My father told me about his conversion from atheist to spiritualist about a decade earlier. Apparently, my mother had made a bet with him about something that he had lost. According to their agreement, if he lost, he had to accompany her to a spiritualist church to attend a service.
So they went to the Spiritualist church in London one Sunday night when Joseph Benjamin, a well-known medium at the time, was scheduled to demonstrate on the platform. Benjamin was a prominent Spiritualist medium whose mediumship was highly regarded in those days.
Although my father sat all they way in the back during the service, that didn’t stop Benjamin from locating my father in the assembled crowd and delivering a profound message from my late paternal grandfather.
The message stunned my father, especially when Benjamin told him how disappointed my grandfather was that the tools he’d left him were neglected and “rusting away in the shed. And so it was that my father became an avid believer.
The Phenomenon Of Spirit Apparitions
Have you ever felt a presence in the room and then caught a glimpse of a recognisable shadow or a fleetingly familiar face, only to realise that they are no longer among the living?
You are not alone, and it is more common than you might think. It is known as a spirit apparition and most people prefer not to talk about it for obvious reasons.
Lately, I’ve noticed an increase in such experiences with my clients, perhaps due to the other side’s increased efforts these days to communicate with us. I’ve also found myself to be a prime example of this phenomenon.
Increasingly I am seeing familiar faces of deceased people I have known in my life, manifesting in the form of brief spirit apparitions. There is never any doubt as to who they are, as they always have the same appearance as when they lived their existence here.
What exactly are spirit apparitions? They are visual energy manifestations of people who have passed on, appearing to the living in various forms. The word ‘apparition’ simply means an ‘appearance,’ often of something surprising or unexpected. In the context of afterlife phenomena and the spirit realm, it refers to the manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person as a visible image or figure.
The Angels, Spirits And Mystical Beings That Walk Among Us
When I was very young, I had a strange dream. I was in the living room of our house, and it was very late at night. I dreamed that I went to the window. The curtains were closed, but I pushed them aside to look out. There I saw a vision that I will never forget.
In our front yard stood an old woman with white hair. She was holding what looked like a glowing rock or quartz crystal.
I remember thinking to myself that this was all very strange, that it might not be good for her to be standing there in the cold so late at night. But I also remember not feeling surprised or scared. Instead, I felt comforted and curious at the same time.
Then the old lady turned around, as if she had noticed me. But instead of looking at me, she bent down, gently dropped the glowing crystal on the grass, and walked away.
Twenty years later, I was at the checkout counter in a supermarket and noticed an unusual old lady nearby. Something about her told me she was a very special soul. We are all unique, of course, but this lady was definitely not from around here! She was wearing vintage fashion that was clearly from the 1920s. Before I could figure out why she drew my attention, she started walking toward me.
The Difference Between Ghosts And Spirits
The terms “ghost” and “spirit” are often used interchangeably, but there are significant differences in how they’re traditionally understood.
Over the years, I have found that it is quite common for people to sometimes confuse ghosts with the spirits of their deceased loved ones, primarily because both concepts involve entities that are no longer living in the physical world.
However, understanding the distinction between these two types of entities is important for those seeking comfort, closure, or communication with the afterlife, especially in the context of mediumship readings and spiritualism.
Our emotional connection to the deceased often influences how we interpret paranormal experiences. Grief, longing, and love can make us more receptive to signs and spiritual energies that we believe are from our deceased loved ones.
Without a clear understanding of the differences between ghosts and spirits, any unusual paranormal activity may be misinterpreted as evidence of a loved one’s presence.
While both ghosts and spirits are spiritual phenomena related to the survival of human consciousness beyond the death of the physical body, there are distinct differences in these two types of entities’ connection to the physical world and their level of progression or transition into the afterlife.