spirit realm
Your Soul Also Needs Sleep!
Sleeping disorders are at an all-time high in this day and age. Not getting enough sleep is related to many health factors including, weight gain, heart disease, lethargy, headaches, memory loss and irritability. It also creates a dependency on caffeine, sugar and other stimulants.
Most people need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Few people are actually getting that. Many are tossing and turning and not having quality sleep or enough REM (rapid eye movement sleep) time. I believe this time is when our soul leaves our body and spends time reconnecting to the spiritual realm. To me, this human respite and spiritual connection is just as important as the health effects quality sleep has on the body. We need time to dream and resolve our problems and conflicts. Even my dogs dream as they twitch and growl, finally getting to catch that pesky squirrel that keeps eluding them during their waking hours. Resolution!
Based on the Kundalini yoga and spiritual science philosophy I teach, there are changes that happen in the brain that create sleeping disorders. Yes, too much caffeine, too much radiation, and too much drama and television can create sleep disorders. But more often than not, it is our breathing patterns, that disturb our sleep.
Yes, our breathing affects our sleep. How? The right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body. Both are considered the yin, feminine, subconscious, intuitive, spiritual and creative side. The left hemisphere of the brain controls the right side of the body. Both are considered the yang, masculine, active, analytical, methodical sides.
Everyday Mysteries Of The Unexplained
Living on my own I am naturally more conscience of any unusual sounds or movements in and around my home – be they from this realm or the next.
I am not much of a collector, nor a sentimental hoarder. Consequently, the tables, dressers and other surfaces in my house are not crammed with ornaments and trinkets. On my personal dresser I have a few items that have been sitting in the exact same position for a long time. These are only moved on dusting day, which I must confess is not very often.
One of the items on my dresser is a moderate size jewellery box. Inside there are only few sets of modest earrings, as I have never felt the need to wear a watch, and I am not really one for necklaces and bracelets.
Because I seldom need to open my jewellery box, it is always in the exact same place on the dresser. To my great astonishment, as I was getting ready for the day, it caught my eye that the box was now not only in an entirely different position, but appears to have been moved a substantial distance away from its usual place?
I stared dumbfoundedly for a while, trying to make some sense of it. How was this even possible, as I am the only one in the house? I have not had any visitors recently. How did it get to be placed in such a different position and location?
Whilst I was still trying to figure this out…wouldn’t you know it…another odd event occurred a day or two later.
Spirit Visions, Dreams And Visitations
We all possess the gift. Most of us do not believe, or wish to tap into our psychic abilities. Some of us may not be ready to use the gift for good, so it’s probably good that God doesn’t allow some of us to access that part of our psyche.
We are all at different stages of development, but that doesn’t mean that one is better than the other – because some have the gift and some do not. It all depends on divine timing. We must learn as the lessons are given, until we evolve in such a way that we may tap into the gift when we are ready, or when God feels we are ready to bestow it.
One night my dearly departed grandfather came to me in a dream. He was driving this very old-fashioned car, which I later learned he used to own when I paged through the pictures in an old family album. He just was there, he didn’t say anything. I was embracing the light he had brought with him. It was such pure love and just filled me up, and I was so happy and content. I also knew and sensed there were other beings of light present, who may have helped him to make himself known to me.
He came to me so that I could say goodbye to him and tell him that I love him. I felt so good being able to say goodbye. It gave my mind the sense of calm and closure I needed. I needed to say goodbye, because I never got that chance while he was still alive.
During his visit my grandfather also gave me the gift, and while doing so I also had a taste of the blissful energy of the afterlife. In life he always used to tell me that if he was able to he will one day come through from the other side to visit me. He did and I am grateful.
Receiving Spiritual Guidance From Your Ancestors
The ancient tradition of ancestor worship is a powerful, yet often misunderstood spiritual practice. It is typically viewed as a form of idolatry, mainly because of the inaccurate use of the term ‘worship.’
In truth most cultures practicing such rites do not refer to it as ‘ancestor worship.’ The more appropriate terms to use is ‘ancestor reverence’ or ‘ancestor veneration,’ because it is about living descendants paying respect to and seeking the guidance of their loved ones in spirit.
It is a common practice among indigenous people and an integral component of most shamanic traditions. It is not the same as the worship of gods or deities.
In fact, as a spiritual practice it is not much different from looking at old pictures of departed loved ones and rememembering them fondly. We might even tell them how we miss them or share our problems with them. Some of us have even asked them to help us find solutions to problems, or pull a few strings on our behalf from the Other Side.
Although I cannot say I have any special reverence for my ancestors, I do respect them for all the trials and tribulations they experienced while they were in this life. In my ancestral lineage there were courageous prisoner-of-war experiences, the conquering of grievous setbacks and material harships, and even suicides, to mention but a few. Several of my predecessors had truly unique, and even exceptional life stories that still dwell in my cellular memories.
The ancestral technique I use in my spiritual practice is similar to that of the Yoruba people of West Africa. My greatest connection is with my father, and he is the one I communicate with daily in the Yoruba fashion. You can create an altar or sacred space in your home for this purpose.
Spirit Channeling In The Trance State
The term ‘trance’ is sometimes misunderstood in psychic mediumship. The trance state is an altered state of consciousness that enables a medium to communicate with spirit. This shouldn’t be confused with spirit possession, as depicted in some Hollywood films and television shows. There is nothing evil or demonic about mediumship and trance channeling!
In a trance state, the psychic medium’s consciousness serves as a conduit for spirit. It is a two-way communication, and the purest and most trusting form of partnership between the physical and spiritual worlds.
There are essentially two levels or types of spirit channeling, namely mental mediumship and physical mediumship.
Mental mediumship, sometimes also called ‘telepathic mediumship,’ is what most people are familiar with namely to communicate with spirit while fully conscious. Mental mediums use various levels of trance to channel spirit messages.
One of the most famous mental mediums was as the American psychic Edgar Cayce, also known as the ‘sleeping prophet,’ who channeled his higher self while in the trance state. Cayce was a devout Christian who in in a trance state with his eyes closed would answer questions on a variety of subjects, such as healing, dreams, the afterlife, past lives and reincarnation.
While mental mediumship is communication experienced only by the medium or channeler, physical mediumship is also evident to everyone who is with the medium. Mental mediumship involves only the mind of the medium, while in physical mediumship the body of the medium is used to channel information from spirit.
Physical mediumship can involve various physical manifestations of spirit energies, such as the moving of objects, table rapping, and spirit materializations. These phenomena usually occur during séances. There are not many physical mediums these days because this form of channeling requires extensive training and is a psychic practice that can take many years to develop.
Mediums To The Rescue
When some people pass away, they are taken by surprise and in shock. These souls aren’t sure what is going on, where they are now, and how they got there, while wondering where everyone else has gone. These individuals find themselves stuck in a physical, human mindset and unable to progress in the spirit realm.
How can such a confused soul energy become unstuck and cross over into the light? Well, that’s where spirit rescue work comes in! Some of the most rewarding spiritual experiences in my own mediumship career have been during rescue sessions that I used to attend. Once every month, a group of mediums would gather in a séance circle and with the aid of a facilitator we would engage in the rescue process. In the trance state, one of us would then begin to channel the energy of someone who needed assistance to cross over and reach the Other Side.
There are several rescue sessions that particularly stand out in my memory, even after all these years. The first was the spirit of a young woman about 35 years of age. She had been sitting on her kitchen counter in Indiana for months, wondering where the rest of her family had gone? We soon discovered that they had all been killed in a car accident and only she had returned home to search for everyone. The facilitator encouraged her to look to the light, reach for their outstretched hands and join her husband and two children.
Another time, I channeled the energy of a little boy about six years old. He was hiding under one end of his bed, which was on an angle forming a tent over him. He had perished in a house fire in Nebraska and couldn’t find his parents. We encouraged him to look towards the light and reach for his waiting mother’s hand.
Another unusual case was a patriotic young WWII soldier who had been killed in combat, but refused to abandon his post. Our facilitator had to give him a direct order to look to the light and immediately report to his commanding officer!
The Babysitter’s Near-Death Experience
While I was working out at the gym one day, I saw a little old lady who used to babysit me and my brothers when we were little children. I will never the wonderful times we had with her. She was always making it so much fun. She wasn’t on the phone all the time or watching television. She wasn’t ignoring us kids like so many of the other babysitters my mother sometimes hired for us.
When I spotted her and her daughter in the gym, I walked over to greet her, and told her that I remember her very well. I also thanked her for giving me some wonderful memories and teaching me so many valuable life lessons. The one thing I specifically remember her telling me was to always be careful about what we “put into our minds.”At a young age she had already made me realize that what we think about can either help us or harm us. I have always held on to that wisdom in my life. Because it is truly worth more than gold.
One time, I asked her how she knew so much about things. She looked at me and said,“Moon, you know what, I died once.”
“What? No way!” I responded. I went to catholic school growing up, and near-death experiences were certainly not the kind of thing we were learning about in class.
“Yes, I was in the hospital,” she continued. “I had a major operation and I could not wake up afterwards.” Apparently, she had flatlined during surgery and they had struggled to revive her.
“I am very lucky to be here,” she said and then shared some very interesting things with me about her near-death experience (NDE). I still remember that when she first left her body her parents were both there to meet her and she could hear loved ones on the other side of the tunnel having fun. I also remember she said she felt like a ball of light at the time and that it felt so good. The next moment she was being pulled back into her body. Continue reading