So, is there really life after physical death?  You betcha.  How do I know?  I just do.  Not a good enough answer?  Fine.  I’ll elaborate.

Aside from living in a haunted house full of “dead” people, I’ve made contact with people who have made the transition from physical life to the spiritual hereafter.   Now, those that believe this is possible will accept that I may actually have done this.  Those who do not believe, will not believe, and that’s fine.  We are all entitled to our beliefs.  At least here in America we are!!  That doesn’t mean we don’t get prosecuted for what we believe but that’s something I’m not going to get into here.  I get on that soapbox and I’ll rant for hours!

The unseen forces in that haunted old farmhouse were scary.  But I think it was more because we didn’t know what we were dealing with and also, my dog didn’t like them.  I figured if they were friendly, he wouldn’t react in the way dogs do when they don’t like someone or something.  My dog Tippy, however, often growled at them and that is a pretty good indication that they were not friendly.  We didn’t get hurt by them or anything but they sure did take a lot of things that were never to be found again.  Bummer that.

My contact with loved ones in spirit through Automatic Writing went a long way in cementing my beliefs in life after death.  No one is going to convince me that I wasn’t REALLY talking to my grandparents.  Some of the stuff they shared were things I didn’t know anything about (see previous blog posts about this!).

When I then tried my hand at channeling (direct communication with someone in the spiritual realm without the use of anything but my self), that went quite well also.  The information that came through had to come from somewhere as I sure as heck didn’t know that stuff!  When connecting with spiritual guides and loved ones who have passed on, the information coming through should be helpful.  If it’s scary or useless, then you are not connecting with a loved one or a spirit guide.  You are possibly connecting with a “dark” spirit.  An entity that operates as far from God’s influence as possible.  Something that’s in league with “the devil”.  My belief is that the devil isn’t a specific person or entity … it is a term that embodies all things evil (no love involved).

A few years ago I was introduced to “table tipping”.  Like the Ouija, table tipping has negative press associated with it.  Mostly from people who don’t understand any of this, don’t believe any of this and who pass negative judgement on anything to do with the supernatural.  Weird that, since God is a supernatural energy and the majority of the ones criticizing such practices believe in God!! But anyway…

The first time I was introduced to table tipping was at a “spiritual development class” I attended.  I had never seen this work before.  Indeed, I never even heard of it.  There were several small tables used and we put about four to five people per table.  The gist of it is that you lightly lay your hands flat on the table top and invite a spirit to communicate with you.  When one takes you up on the offer, the table begins to vibrate, shimmy, rattle back and forth and finally, it will tip up on one or two legs.  Yes, yes, people are going to say that the people operating the table are causing it to do those things.  Can’t do anything about the skeptics.  I was in one group where the table continuously tipped toward me and of course I was being accused of making that happen.  So I took my index finger and lightly placed the tip of it in the CENTER of the table (there were three others at the table).  We asked the spirit a question and the table easily, quickly tipped to me.  Now, how did I make that happen with the tip of one finger lightly resting on the center of the table?  If my mind made that table tip towards me, then wow, even that is amazing!!

For the most part, though, I considered table tipping just a fun sort of activity.  I didn’t take it too seriously.  Until one day we got a group of people together and got ourselves a serious message.  One of the woman who joined the group at the table I was operating (there were four of us all together) was a stranger to me.  I shall call her “Gladys” though that was not her name.  I did not know Gladys or anything about her.  She came with one of my aunts who was also operating the table with us.  The fourth person was yet another aunt who also did not know Gladys.  Once we got the table tipping and “talking” (it spells out messages through a series of tips … “a” is one tip, “b” is two tips, etc… yes, it’s time consuming), Gladys wanted to know if she could ask for someone.  We told her to go ahead and call him forth.  When the table tipped  to indicate he was with us, she started to cry.  At first I thought it was because she was moved to think someone she cared about was with her once again.  But that wasn’t it at all.  The man she asked for and who answered her call had been missing for two weeks.  Of course Gladys was hoping that he was still alive though it really wasn’t expected that he was.  He suffered from Alzheimer’s and had wandered from his home two weeks prior.  Gladys believed from the beginning of his disappearance that he had left his home with the intention of coming to visit her.  There was a path through the woods between their homes that he used to use.  She said that volunteers had searched the woods but did not find him.  The man whom I shall call “Walter” (not his real name) then told us that he was indeed in the woods.  He told us he got confused, wandered off the path and then fell over a fallen tree.  He told us where we could find his body.  The mood at the table was pretty somber.  This wasn’t just a fun game anymore.  None of us were sure how to handle the situation.  Part of us wanted to load into the car and go find Walter.  A bigger part of us did not.  The bigger part won out.

Gladys, however, decided a few days later to try and find Walter based on the information he had given us through the table.  But she became lost herself (Gladys is in the elderly stages of life, as was Walter). Thankfully, Gladys’s son found her and rescued her.  No other attempts were made to find Walter’s body (search parties had been called off by this time).  Then a year later, during hunting season, two unfortunate hunters found more than they bargained for.  They found Walter, right where he said he’d be!  This more than anything has convinced me that table tipping is a valid way to communicate with the spirit world.

Shortly after being introduced to table tipping (and before the Walter incident), I convinced a couple family members to sit down with me and give it a try.  We did a prayer for God’s protection and cast his protective light about us (our imagination is a key tool to all there is!  a strong, focused mental picture is as real as solidified matter!)  The dark forces that lurk in the netherworld cannot penetrate God’s light (all light is God!).  By envisioning ourselves surrounded with light, we are ensuring that only good, loving spirits get through to speak with us.  I always begin each session that involves spirit in any way with a prayer, and I always take the time to imagine myself surrounded in God’s protective light.  I believe this works, nay, I KNOW it does for I have not had any problems with negative energies.

So, there we are sitting quietly waiting for the table to move.  It shimmies ever so slightly.  Of course we each ask the other “Did you feel that?”  Then suddenly into the quiet was a series of knocks pounding loudly on our window in the living room (my home has an open floor plan and we were in the dining room portion of the house). Of course we jump up and check the window and look out on the porch to see if anyone is out there.  Our first thought was that someone saw what we were doing through the window and decided to have fun with us (an illogical thought as we have no close neighbors and live relatively secluded).  So of course there was no one about and no logical explanation for the knocking.  Such a thing did not happen again or since.  Not during table tipping activities anyway.

I have experienced several incidents in my life where I heard someone knock at my door and when I went to answer it, no one was there.  As my dogs also heard the knocks and responded with excited barking, I know I didn’t imagine it.  One time the knock was on the door right beside me.  I was doing dishes, lost in thought, when someone (or “something”) knocked on my door.  The dogs immediately started barking and I turned my head to see who it was (the door is all glass) and no one was there!  I’ve even heard my name called out several times.  Have even answered before I realized that I was alone!  My initial response to these moments is to question whether I really heard anything or not. But gosh, they sure sounded real enough.

A few years ago I decided to check out the Spiritualist Church.  Luckily for me, we had one nearby.  The first visit there, I had my grandmother come through the visiting medium (for those who are not familiar with the Spiritualist Church … services are conducted in three parts: healing/mediation, an inspirational talk and then finally, messages from spirit).  How do I know it was Nana who came through for SURE?  I’ll explain.  Since I fully understand that some mediums bring through vague references and information that is pretty universal…can be attributed to anyone…I want it clear that what came through for me on this day, my first visit to the church, was very specific to my grandmother.  My Nana was short…only 4’11” and she probably weighed all of 90 lbs.  Nana was a chain smoker (Pall Malls, unfiltered!) and she enjoyed beer (yeah, she was a character!!).  She used to pour herself about a half a cup of beer each day and took her time drinking it.  Nana’s day consisted of cooking for Grampy (he got two full meals a day) and sitting at the kitchen table next to the window.  She doodled constantly and kept watch for whatever interested her outside that window.  Driving up the driveway to her house, you could always count on seeing her there and it was always a welcome, comforting sight!  I spent many, many hours of my childhood in her front yard knowing she was watching my play with interest and amusement. Truly, I loved having an audience.  Especially an appreciative, nonjudgmental one!

That short background bio is important.  Here’s why.  The medium told me that I had a grandmother figure coming through to speak to me.  She was quite short and slight of stature.  He saw her sitting at a table next to a window! He said she was holding up a cup and saying “It’s tea” and winking (Nana used to joke with me that she was drinking her “tea”).  He said she passed over to the other side about 25 years ago or so (yes).  He said she liked to draw (hey, doodling is a form of drawing!).  He saw her smoking a cigarette and looking out the window!  Her message to me was to continue with my writing and not stop!! I was working on a novel at the time and wondering if I really should pursue my old dreams of being an author.  Nana had always been supportive of my writing ambitions (I’ve been writing stories since the age of eight and was determined all through high school that I was going to be a published author someday!).  It all just hit me in that moment that my grandmother was really there!  It’s quite an emotional thing to happen.  I had spoken to her over the years through channeling and automatic writing but to have her come through someone else was quite wonderful!!  More so perhaps because I knew it wasn’t me influencing anything in any way.

This experience convinced me that this was the church I needed to continue attending.  The people there were friendly, the atmosphere lovely and better yet, my Nana attended as well!!  So the following week I go again.  I was hoping that Grampy would come through this time.  He did not.  My uncle Paul did instead!!

My uncle Paul died at the young age of 29.  A brain aneurysm struck him down in the prime of life.  I was 14 at the time and his death was a stunning blow to me.  I loved him very much.  He was one of the nicest persons you could ever meet.  He was always jolly and very kind.  He treated everyone so very well.  What I loved most about him was how attentive he was and how considerate.  And what’s more, Paul believed in me.  I remember one day that I was upset because I gave one of my stories to my mother to read which she did … out loud to one of her friends.  The two of them chuckled over it and I took it that they were making fun of my writing! Now, looking back, I don’t believe they were being cruel or disrespectful.  I was thirteen years old, the writing had to have been pretty amusing to an adult and they truly did enjoy it.  They even told me I should write more.  But all I heard was their laughter.  Not long after that, my uncle stopped by for a visit.  He wanted to know why I had such a down face and I told him that I had just made the decision not to write anymore (at 13 it is easy to be discouraged and everything is always so dramatic!).  I had shared my secret dream of being a writer with my uncle Paul a long time before and he was very supportive of that dream.

My uncle’s easy smile disappeared and he got a very serious look on his face.  He leaned across the table toward me, looked me in the eyes and said, “Debbie, don’t let anyone discourage you from your dreams.  It doesn’t matter what anyone does or says.  You believe in yourself and go after whatever you want.  That’s all that really matters.”  He then squeezed my hand and said the all important words, “I believe in you.”  That was enough for me.  Thank you, Paul!!

So here I am at church for the second time and when we reach the part of the service where the medium starts sharing messages, I get excited and nervous.  Will Grampy come through or not?  I had sent a mental plea out to him, inviting him to do so.  The medium looked at me and said, paraphrased somewhat but close to what was said, “There’s a gentleman here.  He’s very jolly.  Strong personality, very friendly. (I adored my grandfather but I wouldn’t have described him as “jolly”).  He’s got a very uplifting spirit.  He wasn’t very old when he died, later twenties?”  The medium then touched his head.  “I’m getting that he died suddenly.  An aneurysm…in the brain?”  (It felt as if the blood drained from my face.  I knew instantly that it was Paul and I began to cry.  I was just so GLAD to have him back in my life!!).  “He’s quite tall, prominent nose.” (the medium is gesturing) “His hair is parted on the side.” (All apt descriptions) The medium rubs his face.  “Sometimes he has a beard but not all the time.” (Paul usually grew a beard in the winter time and shaved it off during the summer months!). The medium then held up his hand. “He’s showing me a pipe!  He’s holding it in his left hand.  His tobacco is pleasant.”  (My uncle Paul was left handed, he smoked a pipe that gave off the most pleasant smell of cherries!!)  Paul’s message?  He’s here, he’s happy and he’s still supportive of me continuing my dream! Oh. My. God.  That’s all I can say.  I was profoundly affected by the entire thing.  I KNOW my uncle Paul was in that room with me.  He was just as exuberant and full of life as always.  Just as supportive of me as he had always been!  I left church that day with a renewed sense of purpose. Yes, I was going to pursue my writing career and I was going to be serious about it.  Nana and Paul both came through to encourage that decision and I trusted them whole-heartedly.  Like the good granddaughter and niece that I am, I am taking them up on that advice!

Just this past weekend, I went to church after a rather long absence.  Just before heading out the door, I went to grab my glasses off the bathroom counter where I placed them while blow-drying my hair.  My glasses were gone.  Looked all over for them.  Nothing.  My son helped me with the search and guess where we found them?  Tucked up under the counter.  Baffled as to how they got there, I hurried off to church, worried that I’d be late.  When it came time for messages from spirit, guess who comes to greet me?  My grandparents.  The medium said, “There is a couple here.  One is quite tall (Grampy was over six feet) and the other one is quite short (Nana was 4’11”), he is holding glasses in his hand.  There is something significant about this.”  (aha! so my grandfather was the one who hid my glasses.  Just so he could help validate his presence in church later).  Clever man.  The medium told me that they wanted me to know they were a united front in spirit, their arms are entwined (a nice picture for my mind to enjoy).  They wanted me know know that they are here for me always.  It was nice getting that message as I’ve been wondering what they thought about what I’ve been up to lately, this blog for one as I’ve been talking about them quite a bit.  It’s a wonderful thing to stay in touch with them, though I do miss their physical presence.  Still, it’s comforting to know their spirits are close by and there support is as strong as ever.

So, yes.  There is life after physical death.  And we can thank God for that!  Hallelujah and Amen.