I've tried to write this blog post several times now, but haven't been able to write things exactly as I want them to come across. Not only that, but I think it may take a few posts before I have written everything. (Hence the Part 1 written above.) Also, I have been a bit fearful that there are some people in my world who may look at me a little differently after reading this. Spiritual things are kind of interesting like that - if someone is not ready for certain information, it can cause criticism, disbelief and doubt and make people look at you like you're a bit crazy. To me, this spiritual experience has been a bit surreal and I might not have believed it had it not been me experiencing it. Needless to say, this time the prompting to write about my experience is so strong that I feel I have to try again and make it as good as I can, pray it will help those in need and leave it at that.
About 3 years ago, a dear friend told me that she has a special spiritual gift... For her the spiritual world is very close. She can feel the presence of people who have passed on and - in some cases - she has been passed on messages to those of us who are living. At the time I had no idea there were people who do this all the time (they're called mediums) and in trying to explain this to me, she used the show The Ghost Whisperer as an example. Because I love this woman and wanted to understand what she was telling me, I started watching the show to better understand what she meant. Trying to understand my dear friend has taken me on an incredible journey, a spiritual journey...
As I was watching this show, there were many things that I believed and some I thought were just bogus. My interest and disbelief in the show led me to research it more fully and I found out that The Ghost Whisperer is based on a real woman, Mary Ann Winkowski. Incidently, she has written her own book about her her gift. I read her book, When Ghosts Speak. This book opened my mind to the afterlife. Don't get me wrong, as an LDS woman, I already had a belief in, and a vague knowledge of the afterlife - but this was the first book that let in extreme details and filled in where other things have not. Most importantly, I realized how close the "other side" really is!!!!
You have to understand that this is the same person who had a childhood friend who claimed her grandparents had ghosts in their house. All I knew was that when people die they go to heaven. I could not understand why any person who had died would cause any sort of mischief or "haunting" and I readily dismissed everything she said to me. Looking back, I realize that I never felt comfortable in her Grandma and Grandpa's house and every time I went in, I wanted to turn around and run out, but I always chalked that up to me being uncomfortable -as a child- around old people. Now, I know better.
Oh sure, I'd seen the movie Ghost, and the move Casper - both movies that clearly depict spirits who have not crossed over into the light - but I still had no clue that these were depictions of things that really happen! That is, until I read Mary Ann Winkowski's book. You see Mary Anne can see and talk to spirits who have not crossed over into the light of God. When she is asked to help out, she does anything and everything she can to help a spirit cross over into that light. Which is, as she puts it, where a spirit belongs.
From Mrs. Winkowski, I learned that all spirits have this light available to them at the time of death. For up to 3 days the spirit is allowed to cross back and forth between the two planes. If a spirit decides to stay and not cross over then they are stuck on earth, with us, and without any light from the other side. People choose to stay on the earth for various reasons. Whatever the reason, it is not the place that a spirit is meant to be. These spirits need energy to have any form of "life" and, because of that, they can cause huge problems to the living. Most importantly, these spirits drain you from your energy and can cause sicknesses in the living. Not only do they use human energy, but they can also use electrical energy. Which is why it's common in ghost stories for the lights to flicker or something - because that is truly what an earth bound spirit can/has to do in order to function on this plane - they use energy. (Incidently they can also cause electrical issues with a house - surprise, surprise.)
I know, I know, it sounds a bit creepy, but when I read her book everything made so much sense! Mary Ann taught me why people stay, who or what, they may attach themselves to and that they surround us all the time. She opened my mind to positive and negative "energy" and how it can affect us physically and spiritually. The way that Mary Ann cleanses a home from negative energy (which can come from spirits, but can also come from our own negative thinking) is through a quince seed - a seed that is prayed over. She claims it has special power. I believe it does, but not because the seed is powerful in and of itself, it is powerful because of the prayers behind it! Mrs. Winkowski did not claim this herself, but from her I learned why people dedicate their homes to God, why we are counseled to pray always and over everything! Her stories and insight helped me to understand scripture stories of casting out devils. From her, I learned that I should protect myself - spiritually - at all times. I learned that prayer is a powerful tool and that it protects one from spiritual dangers that are, in fact, quite real! Her book taught me about the first and lower level of the spiritual world. Although I had no idea at the time, it was the beginning of my journey. This journey has not only lead me to understand my friend, but it has taught me to better understand myself and my relationship with God and loved ones here and on the other side.
Mary Ann's book had a forward that was written by a medium named James Van Praagh. I had an intense curiosity to read one of his books too!
(More on him and what I learned from him in my next post - Stay tuned!)
Just for kicks and giggles, a clip from the movie Casper:
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