Seeing Ghosts

Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there I did not die" Attributed to Mary E Frye 1932"

“George W. Bush, the U.S. President, is prone to bouts of crying caused by the stress of his job and claims to have seen ghosts emerge from the Lincoln bedroom in The White House, according to a new book on his Presidency.” (Sheldon Alberts, “The Ottawa Citizen” published: Wednesday, September 05, 2007)

I love the idea of ghosts and the thought that someone I once loved is not gone forever, but can still see me and be with me. I will never be lonely with the knowledge that someone dear is always nearby.

There are many tales of spirits, hauntings and visions such as the story of Karen on the website "About.Com"(paranormal.about.com):

As Karen attempted to cross the street while walking home one night, she felt a strong hand grip her shoulder, "This hand not only pulled me back on to the sidewalk," Karen says, "but was strong enough to land me on my posterior on the sidewalk. When I glanced around me, I caught a glimpse of a light blue, periwinkle-colored dress with tiny white flowers." The grip was strong enough to cause her to fall on the sidewalk and, at that moment she saw a car whizzing around the corner at a dangerous speed. Whoever had grabbed Karen clearly saved her life, but as she looked around she did not see any body there. She returned home and told her mother what had happened. As she described the periwinkle dress her mother amazed her by telling her that her grandmother indeed did have such a favorite dress with white flowers. Karen had never known her maternal grandmother as she had died when her own mum was just a child. She had been convinced that night that her Gran's spirit saved her life.

Sir William Barrett, a Professor of Physics at the Royal College of Science in Dublin published a book in 1926 called "Death Bed Visions". He discovered during his research that children often claimed angels had appeared by their sick bed. Many of these children thought the angels were still living, but it was generally discovered later that these were visions of people who already died. The angels as they were described by the kids did not have wings, which poses the question, if these were just an imaginary illusion why wouldn't a child see the angels as described in literature and depicted in art, that is with large white wings? According to the “Journal of the Society for Psychic Research”, there have been documented cases of apparitions being witnessed by other people standing in a dying person's room.

Another interesting anecdote is the one of "Katie King" channeled by London born Miss Florence Cook (1856-1904). She materialized in 1872 during a séance as a death like face amongst curtains and within a year perfected her "visits". She would wonder around the house and would even sleep with her medium. When Miss Cooke married, the situation became a little complicated, as you would imagine.

As a child I had an imaginary friend. Every one would smile and comment on how cute it was, but to me "Maureen" was real. She was a Mum who talked to me and gave me the attention my own mother was not always able to provide.

Carole Lynne is a medium. She has done many readings around the globe, has been interviewed by ABC World News, The Boston Globe, and Fox TV. "I believe that many of these so called imaginary friends are spirits. In our culture, the only way little children can get away with playing with their spiritual friends, is to learn from the culture that these are "imagined friends." It is easy for children to see spirit, but we teach them that they are making it up and so most people lose the ability to see" she says.

At around age four, I used to sit at and stare at my hand for hours. I would think, "Is this my body now?" I had no knowledge or interest in spiritual matters back then. Have I been here before? Those who believe in reincarnation would attest to this.

There has been ample research done on what happens after we die but, let's face it we are not really going to find out until it happens to us. Having said this there are accounts and, in some cases photographic evidence, of some kind of ethereal presence in different places and at different times.

One day, while sitting on my couch feeling deeply upset about something I sensed someone sit next to me and I caught a glimpse of a man dressed in an old fashioned house coat. I had never seen him before and he did not resemble anyone I knew. It was a very peculiar albeit peaceful sensation to have this individual materialize in my lounge room. I somehow knew he was not there to harm me.

Carole Lynne says,” When the world of spirit needed to let me know that I was a medium, I had incredible experiences: saw spirits, had spiritual dreams and waking visions. This was the way that spirit knocked on my door. It took me a while to get used to the idea that I was seeing spirits. I became very emotional about it, but ultimately accepted that if I had been given this gift, I needed to use it and do readings for people."

If spirits are among us, what are they doing here? "Most of the spirits I communicate with seem to find it easy to be with their loved ones who are still living in physical bodies, and within their own spiritual realm: all at the same time. This leads me to believe that what we call "the spirit world" may be another realm that interpenetrates our reality...” claims Carole Lynne. What about haunted places?

Francis Bevan is a clairvoyant from Australia, who also works as a medium,
"These spirits are often earth bound and don't realize that they need to cross over to the other side. They exist like this when their souls are not prepared to leave the earth plane this often happens in cases of suicides and sudden deaths."

There are six ways one can make contact with a life force from beyond:

Clairaudience-channeling messages through hearing.
Clairvoyance-this is the ability to see the energy.
Clairsentience-emotionally feel what is being communicated.
Clairalience-channeling by means of smell.
Claircognizance-the ability to "know", a form of ESP.
Clairgustance- experiencing spiritual matter through taste without putting anything in one's mouth.

"Spirits often appear to me as they have messages to deliver either to myself or my clients. I sometimes only get a sense of the spirits personality or hear clairaudiently the messages they have to deliver. Other times I see them as clearly as I do the living but they always have an aura or a bright light around them. The situation is not frightening as I have never encountered a spirit who as wished to harm myself or anybody else" says Francis.

Francis claims that spirits are indeed around us but cannot always assist us, "They can also see the outcomes of our actions but can do nothing to prevent us from making mistakes as we must learn our own lessons."

Where is it that these entities are supposed to go? The white light has been what a lot of people, who have experienced NDES (near death experiences) have been drawn to.” For me, light is truth, and so when a person is passing over, they begin to see the true reality of creation: light," says Carole Lynne.

I am still trying to bring my old fashioned gentleman back and I wish I could communicate with him this time.
Carole Lynne believes in an open mind," Most people can see visions of their loved ones by opening their hearts and their minds. If they allow themselves to be intimidated by skeptical relatives, it will harder for them to be open to seeing spirit."

Francis uses his psychic gifts to attune to spirits, "Once we start to learn to still our minds and allow our ESP and intuition to work it opens up a whole new spectrum of possibilities for us. For anybody who wants to learn how to do this I run courses and I have also written a book".

As far as the above-mentioned Miss Cook, some say that she was a fraud, but each researcher left very sketchy evidence to their findings. It is not certain whether the mysterious entity Katie King has ever existed on earth, but she has allegedly appeared in séances in 1903 in Canada and 1974 in Rome.
I sure would love to meet her!

Recommended reading guide:

One Last Hug Before I Go: The Mystery and Meaning of Death Bed Visions, by Carla Wills-Brandon

The Book Of Psychic Development, by Francis Bevan Francis Bevan

How To Get a Good Reading, by Carole Lynne Carole Lynne

Heart and Sound, by Carole Lynne

Consult Your Inner Psychic, by Carole Lynne


The Spiritual Eye - The Third Eye