the other side
A Cuddly Message From Grandma At Halloween
All of us have lost, or will in time lose someone very dear to us. Like it or not, all of us also have to ponder the concept of life after death at some point in our life. Some of us have very strong beliefs on the subject, one way or the other. We either believe in the afterlife, or we do not.
For me the answer is simple and easy. I strongly believe, because of both my personal and professional experiences. For example, I have been visited many times by my grandparents, and I have communicated with many loved ones in spirit in my daily work, when I do readings for my clients.
My grandma often communicates with me in the dream state. She tends to show up when I least expect it, usually to give me a guiding message or to warn me about something. She always has been a worrier, in this life and the next! Right up to the very day she departed this life, she was telling us what to do to keep safe, and she was always giving us good advice. She is very wise.
I was asking her just the other day to give me a sign that she was around, and sure enough, she did. But this time she did not show up in a dream. She spoke to me…through a teddy bear! Yes, indeed.
It is one of those plush toys that makes a cute kissing sound and says, “I love you very much,” when you squeeze it. I was in the tub and this little teddy bear was right next to me, on top of a shelf. After drawing the bath, I was leaning back in the soothing, warm water, letting out a sigh of relief that a long day was over. Next thing you know, this teddy bear goes off on its own, making the kissing sounds and saying I love you, over and over. I knew right away that it was grandma making contact.
The History And Hidden Blessings Of Halloween
As a child, I remember getting excited about dressing up as a witch on Halloween and enjoying all the treats, like toffee apples and spooky cakes, that my mom used to make.
But one year, my father ruined the holiday for me when he explained his views on the significance of Halloween to me. I was just 10 years old, and it upset me.
Because of his religious beliefs, my father then forbade my siblings and me from celebrating Halloween. This made us feel excluded from our community as we watched other children dress up and enjoy themselves.
As an adult, I learned that it was not the event itself that was the issue, but rather the assumed F.E.A.R. behind it: False Evidence Appearing Real.
Remembering those times recently, I was prompted to take another look into the origin of this holiday tradition and what it truly stands for.
On 31st October each year, the Celtic pagan festival known as Samhain is celebrated, symbolizing the end of the harvest period and the start of the winter season, sometimes referred to as the “darker half” of the annual 12-month cycle.
Long before it became a night of costumes and candy, it was a sacred festival rooted in ancient spiritual tradition. The celebration we now know as Halloween traces its origins to Samhain (pronounced Sow-in), a Gaelic festival that marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark half of the year.
Crossing Over Into Unconditional Love
Is my mom okay? Is my dad still in pain? Is my friend trying to speak to me? Is my grandmother proud or ashamed of me? Does my husband forgive me?
These are just a few of the many questions that I am asked by bereaved family members and friend, when they lose someone dear to them.
Firstly, it is important to understand that we are all spirit with a temporary physical body. And we have free will in how we choose to live our lives. Some of us choose to be kind and giving, while some are abusive and filled with anger. It is not our place to judge each other, simply to know that free will was a gift given to us before we came into this current physical body.
When I am asked these questions, the initial part of the answer is always going to be the same. The person that you lost simply left their physical body behind; their spirit never faltered.
When someone crosses over, no matter who, or how, the moment of crossing is always met with pure love. Their angel reaches out a hand and when they touch the light shows them that there is nothing to be afraid of.
They instantly know that the place where they are returning to is a place of light and harmony. It is a place of pure, unconditional love. Hate disappears, hurt or pain disappears. There is no shame, not disrespect. And there is only unconditional love for those that remain here on earth waiting for our turn to join them.
The Powerful Bond Of A First Love Connection
I think we can really feel the intensity of true love the most when we are young and experience falling in love for the first time. The feeling is so strong and all encompassing.
When love takes over everything in the world just feels so much better. The grass is greener and everything is perfect and good, in a way that words simply cannot express. If you fall madly in love with someone, and you are really lucky and get to have and hold that love, it is even more profound and deep-seated.
I was fortunate to experience this once. It happened while I was working as a bagger at a local grocery store. I stood up, after stocking the paper bags, and suddenly locked eyes with a wonderful soul. He obviously felt the same way, because he returned with his phone number that he had written on a small piece of paper for me.
We had a wonderful romantic relationship for nearly four years. He ended up finishing medical school several states South from where we initially met. Despite my fear of flying, I did fly down to see him once. I also took my Tarot cards and did a few readings for him. The ‘Death’ card kept popping up, but I kept reassuring him that it usually means ‘transition’, and not to worry, no one is going to die.
He came home for a family visit a few months later. I was sitting at his parents’ pool in the back yard, where he grew up. I suddenly sensed something terrible. I had this overwhelming and ominous premonition that someone in his family was going to die. Being so connected to him, I felt that it wouldn’t be him, but his brother. I felt very strongly about this. Seeing him playing his guitar, so alive and happy, I could not begin to imagine losing him.
How To Conduct Your Own Séance At Home
When I facilitate a séance, it is to give the sitters opportunity to communicate with departed spirits that have crossed over to the other side, which the spirits like to call ‘home.’
Spirits often like to call the day they left the earth plain their ‘birthday’ going back home. Death is the beginning of their life in the other side, as some people like to call it. Matter cannot be destroyed it just changes form.
A séance is group session aimed at communicating with spirits. The word séance comes from the French word for seat, session or setting (from the old French seoir, which means to sit).
There are usually three to twelve people in the séance. I prefer six to eight, and if possible a mix of female and male energy. When people come to my space for a séance I have a nice round wooden pedestal table. Lighting is a personal preference.
Some mediums like very little light, some like a red light, because they believe it is easier to see spirit in red light. I personally feel spirit can communicate in any kind of lighting.
As a professional psychic medium I communicate with spirit every day. When doing a mediumship session, I am in a light trance, or altered state of consciousness. When conducting a séance mediums are usually in a little deeper trance state.
Are Your Loved Ones Sending You Signs?
Have you ever felt as if someone who has passed away was trying to reach out to you? Have you noticed any unusual signs? Maybe you suddenly caught a whiff of their favorite perfume? Or maybe a song you associate with them started playing when you were thinking of them.
Though these moments may seem insignificant or random, they could actually be signs from beyond. Yes, really. The people we love who have passed away are still with us. They’re energetically around us more than we realize, watching over us and cheering us on.
Sometimes they try to send us reassuring messages, but we don’t always pay attention. Life can get hectic. It’s easy to miss these signs when we’re busy with our daily routines.
But the signs are still there. We just need to slow down, take a breath, and open our hearts to noticing them.
Not everyone sends the same kind of sign, and not every spirit communicates in the same way. Some loved ones are very obvious. They might move items like coins or feathers for you to find, flicker lights, or send a butterfly or dragonfly right into your path.
Other signs might be more subtle. They might cue up a meaningful song for the two of you or make the number 11:11 appear repeatedly until you finally say, “Wait a minute…what’s up with that?”
These are all ways they’re saying, “Hey! I’m here. I’m okay. I see you. Are you okay? No need to worry; you’ll be just fine. I’m looking out for you.”
Rescue Mediumship Helps Lost Souls Find Peace
Rescue mediumship work has always held a special place in my heart. From the beginning of my training, I was intrigued by the deeply meaningful work of guiding lost or confused souls toward the light.
I was first introduced to the process during the advanced mediumship classes at my spiritualist church. A few times each year, we gathered in meditation circles led by an incredible reverend. She created a safe and sacred space for spirit communication.
The goal of these sessions was simple yet profound: to help earthbound spirits who were unaware that they had passed on, or who were somehow struggling to transition to the afterlife. These souls, often confused and disoriented, needed a gentle nudge (or sometimes a firm push) to find lasting peace on the other side.
Our rescue circle, usually consisting of about eight people, would sit in silence and attune ourselves to the spirit realm. One by one, spirits would come through and speak through one of us. We would hear their voices in our minds, or sometimes even channel them directly, adopting their accents or mannerisms. The reverend guided the conversation by asking questions to uncover the spirit’s identity and story. Who were they? What had happened? What did they remember?
These encounters were deeply moving and often unforgettable. One of the earliest that I remember was a little boy who came through to me. He was hiding under a bed, unaware that he had died in a house fire. The image was vivid: the end of the bed had collapsed, forming a small triangle of protection. We then called his mother in from the spirit world. Together, we gently persuaded the boy to take his mother’s hand and move into the light.