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There’s a ghost in my house! Now what?

Filed under: beliefs, ghosts, Hauntings, inspiration, Life after death, Mediumship, paranormal, Reincarnation, Spirit Communication, Spiritualist, supernatural — 8 Comments

April 7, 2013

Many of you who follow my blog know that I grew up in a haunted house and because of that became interested in the paranormal. I’ve written blog posts about my experiences in that freaky old farmhouse and plan on releasing a book about it as well…which will really be a conglomeration of all those earlier blog posts. Since starting this blog a little over a year ago, I’ve received lots of comments and email from readers who have had or are having similar experiences and I thought it was time to write another post dealing with the issue of ghosts.

For those of you who have not been following my blog since the beginning…let me bring you up too speed real quick about me, my experiences and beliefs concerning ghosts, hauntings, and the like.

First, I am not a medium though I have had some experience communicating with “the other side” and I don’t consider myself any more psychic than anyone else (we all possess psychic ability). But I do actively pursue knowledge on spiritual matters and put to practice the things I learn. So, basically, I am the average person with an interest in the paranormal and everything that I do…you can do as well!

I was seven when my family moved into the farmhouse and I was fourteen when we moved out. We’d had enough of the paranormal activity there and really, once my dad finally caved to the idea of ghosts and accepted the fact that they truly existed…there was no staying there any longer.

Ghosts can be pretty scary. It’s unnerving to deal with something you can’t see. Scariest of all is the possibility of coming up against something evil. This fear alone scares most people off when it comes to spirit communication and hauntings. And really, that is quite understandable. No one in their right mind is going to want to deal with an evil entity. Heck, we don’t want to deal with bad people who are still LIVING let alone one who is dead! The unseen bad is the worst kind in many ways. I think this is because we feel powerless against it. How do you fight something you can’t see or touch?

Now, before I go on with my thoughts on that, let me explain that the things I have come to believe are a result of personal experience and acquired knowledge from other people or through books, television/movie/video and the like. I believe every medium of learning (such as those just mentioned) are methods used by God to teach us what we need to learn or remember. Now, I believe in God, obviously, and I also think of this Higher Power as “the Universe”. Did you notice that I said God uses the various methods to “teach” us something or to help us “remember” something? I say “remember” because I truly believe we know way more than we remember about who we are (spiritual beings!) and where we come from (spirit!). When going through the birth process, it seems we suffer some sort of amnesia and “forget” quite a bit about our spiritual selves, where it was we came from and what we are capable of.

I had a very vivid dream once (during a time when I was really going through a “spiritual awakening”) that I believe addresses this issue. By the way…I truly believe our dreams are the soul’s way of speaking to us! But anyway…I dreamed I was in spirit and preparing to come to earth (I was soon to be born into a physical body). A group of friends was with me and we were discussing my pending birth. I was sad to be leaving them and the spiritual world in which we lived. In my dream, I understood that I’d done this before (been born into other lives…so, yes, I do believe in reincarnation and living past lives!). I told my friends that THIS time I wasn’t going to forget who I was. I wasn’t going to forget them or my “real” life. They told me it would be impossible to hold on to the memory of our truth. But I was VERY determined! So when it was time to go (enter earthly life) I ascended a spiral staircase and as I went up the steps, I repeatedly looked down at my friends gathered below. I would then wave and say, “I won’t forget you!”. Finally, I reached the top of the stairs and the world in which I had to step into was dark. The staircase and all below was brightness and light and I remember not wanting to step off the staircase into the dark interior of life. But I had no choice and so as I moved away from the stairs, I kept glancing back toward the stairwell. The further away I walked, the smaller the lighted spot where the staircase was located. The world around me was dark and dismal and at first I was constantly glancing back to remind me of the staircase’s existence and to reassure myself that it was still there. I would NOT forget! But, the more I walked (moved through life…grew up), the more frightening the images around me became and the smaller the light when I turned back to look. I kept repeating in my head “I won’t forget” but it was getting harder to remember to do that for I was distracted by what was going on around me. Then something jumped out at me and scared me so bad I didn’t dare to turn around and look for the light. Instead, I focused more on what was in front of me rather than what was behind me and when I finally did turn back…I could no longer see the light and I didn’t remember WHY I was looking back! I had forgotten! And that’s when I woke up. That dream is as vivid to me today as it was when I had it…now over 20 years ago! Dreams that stay with us are very important to us on many levels and in this case it was a pretty big lesson!

It’s been said that children retain some spiritual connection at birth but as they age, the connection becomes lost (have you ever noticed that babies often seem to be looking at something you can’t see? Something that amazes and amuses them?). The harsher the life we live, the faster we forget. Eventually, we are left “in the dark” and all knowledge of the light is something we must now seek to remember. I think that is why Jesus was considered the “light of the world”. He came to teach us “the way” back into the light (to reopen our eyes that we may see!). But he isn’t the only one who came to help us poor lost souls. All those who are known as true spiritual teachers (across all religions)…they too have come to show us the way and help us to see.

So anyway, our biggest challenge as humans is to remember the “truth” about who we are. In seeking and finding the truth, we shall truly be set free…from fear, misery, pain and the like! I truly believe that those of us who ACTIVELY seek the truth will eventually discover it. Bit by bit, slowly but surely! Because of our Ego (and we ALL possess one), our “remembering” is often a slow process. Our Egos act as a personal “gatekeeper” of sorts. It limits our access to universal knowledge and keeps us firmly rooted in the physical world. The Ego controls what we accept as truth and the only way to get a truth past Ego’s gate is to do it in small increments! Once we learn and accept one thing…we can go on to learn and accept another. And so on.

When physical death occurs and a person enters spirit, they do one of the following: 1) hang out in the spirit world for awhile (maybe go through a “life review” process) and then prepare for another birth (reincarnate) 2) go on to Heaven or Hell…whichever is appropriate! 3) hang around the physical world and try to communicate with loved ones left behind…or whoever else they manage to make contact with! 4) become confused about their new state of being (and thus require help from the angels and/or mediums) 5) refuse to accept they are dead (and so require help from angels and/or mediums) or they might 6) hang around the physical world in order to cause mischief. Those that do this are more than likely the “evil” ones we are so afraid to encounter. No doubt they are also avoiding Hell or whatever they must face for the evil deeds they conducted when they were alive!

The ones who are just trying to communicate (either to impart a message or offer reassurance) or the ones who are confused about their new status as spirits (because of a sudden or violent death)…these, I think, are the most common situations in hauntings. It really isn’t unusual to encounter a spirit who is here to do nothing more than reassure us they are fine or to impart a message. Some, though, are concerned about the welfare of someone they left behind and so stick around to watch over them. As for the ones who are confused about their “death” or are afraid to move on…they really do need help…either from a medium or from an angel, a spirit guide. BUT, the ones who stick around because they are angry or intend to do harm, THESE are the ones we need to watch out for and avoid interacting with. And it is fear of these ones who cause most people to avoid spirit communication.

I know that was the case for me when I was living in that farmhouse. Although I knew some of the spirits there meant no harm, there was at least one who was not nice and because of that ONE, I was afraid of them all. Now, considering they never hurt any of us, I can’t think why I was so afraid all the time, but I was. It was this fear that I wanted to address in my third book of the Tess Schafer-Medium series that I’m writing. Book one…”Be Still, My Love” was about my character Tess Schafer dealing with her anger at God and struggling with her spiritual beliefs. Book two…”Hidden Voices” was about her expanding her gift and accepting who she is, what she does and being comfortable with it. Book three…”Vanquishing Ghosts” (to be released in late Spring!) has Tess confronting her fear of negative spirit activity. I wanted to show through this story that we have within us the capability to deal with anything…even evil spirits. I almost named the book “Conquering Fear” because that is exactly what Tess had to do.

Many people write to me expressing fear for some sort of spirit activity they are experiencing. Most all those cases sound to me like someone in spirit who knows them and wants to communicate with them. The spirits bothering these nice folks aren’t trying to frighten them. As I’ve mentioned…once we pass into spirit and we realize that we are very much “alive”, we want to come back and reassure those we love. We want to share the good news! Only now we are in spirit and our communication attempts accomplish nothing but fear. This is why visiting a reputable medium would be beneficial. There are a lot of frauds out there in the world taking advantage of peoples’ grief but there are also a lot of truly gifted mediums ready and willing and happy to help you! As I am a member of the Spiritualist Church, I am lucky enough to be around lots of mediums! My advice lately, for those who seem to have a particularly determined spirit bothering them, is that they should try and locate a Spiritualist Church and see one of their mediums.

Common paranormal experiences are the feeling of being watched, the feeling that someone is right next to you, a sudden chill or tingling feeling (this is more of a response from your spirit body which instantly recognizes when other spirits are nearby!). Things might move around. Rocking chairs will rock, curtains will riffle, a picture might fall (in many cases, the person in the picture is the spirit trying to communicate!), doors open or shut, lights come on or go off, electrical equipment might do the same – the radio or TV might change channels. In all cases, if a spirit is involved, then they are simply manipulating the matter around you to try and get your attention. The problem is…they get your attention alright but then what? You aren’t exactly ready to carry on a conversation are you? And even if you are…how do you go about it? In some cases, people do hear their name being called (a common occurrence actually!). So how do you communicate with a spirit that has managed to get your attention? If you aren’t a natural medium (let’s face it…some are just gifted in this area while others are not!) and you don’t want to pull out a Ouija board, just how are you expected to “talk”?

Well, one thing I often recommend is what is known as “automatic writing”. This is where you grab a pencil and some paper and invite the spirit to communicate with you by writing whatever it is they want to say (using your hand to write it of course…don’t expect the pencil to just lift up and start scribbling away!). The problem with this method is that many people think they are making it all up. I say this…so what? Make it up! Just where do you suppose the inspiration for the words you are writing is coming from? Where do the stories I write come from? Where does any thought come from that pops into our mind? Spirit! This sort of writing is also called “inspirational writing” because you are being inspired to write. Inspiration comes from spirit so inspire away!! The freer you give reign to write whatever enters your mind, the more of a message you are going to get.

Now, because we don’t want to encourage negative spirit interaction, I always make it clear that I don’t want to communicate with anyone who is negative in any way. If a message comes through that sounds threatening or makes you uncomfortable then you need to end the communication. Loving spirits with good intentions are not going to make you feel that way. When a loving spirit wants too communicate with you, that is what you are going to feel…loving energy. You are going to feel GOOD inside. Happy. Peaceful. If you feel none of those things…then you simply tell the spirit that you will NOT communicate with it and that it is not to bother you any more and then BLESS the spirit and send it away. If you are still bothered after that, then find a medium and take care of the problem. Unfortunately, there is the possibility that a particularly nasty spirit isn’t going to obey your command (though I do believe this is rare!). The thing to remember is that here in the physical world…we who are in a physical body are in charge. Those in spirit can only operate in spirit. They can manipulate matter to a degree but once you take charge of the situation…through prayer, faith, and fearlessness…the spirit has no power. I truly believe this. I try to show this through my character Tess. I put her in situations in which she must handle spirit activity…the positive and the negative…and how she does that is how it can truly be done. I feel inspired while writing those stories. And where did I say inspiration comes from? Yeah…I feel spirit is helping me write the Tess Schafer series. I don’t doubt it a bit.

So anyway…the next time you think a spirit is haunting you, you now have options. Tell it to go away or communicate with it. But if you are not comfortable doing either of those things…find someone who will! Just remember, though, that we are all spiritual beings and you have within you the capability to deal with spirit…effectively and safely!!

Many blessings out to all and Peace Out!!

Consequences of Mediumship (teachingsofspiritualism.wordpress.com)
Living Through Death and Coming Back Anyway (deborahjhughes.com)

Tags: Death, Ghost, God, Mediumship, New Age, paranormal, Religion and Spirituality, Spirit, Thought, Universe

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Living Through Death and Coming Back Anyway

Filed under: Life after death, Near Death Experience, Past Lives, Spirit Communication — 14 Comments

February 27, 2013

I recently watched this video clip on Youtube that was posted in the blog Theosophy Watch and it really got me to thinking about the death experience and our reason for being here. I don’t know about you but I truly believe we live on after experiencing physical death. Our true essence is our “spirit” (our soul) and the soul cannot die. It’s been scientifically proven that we are beings of energy and energy cannot be destroyed. So there you have it!

Another thing is all the experiences countless millions (over the many years since humans walked the earth) have had involving ghosts, angels, near death experiences (NDEs), profound dreams, amazing spiritual phenomena, spirit contact, out of body experiences and so on. How can any of us say with certainty that dead is dead and that’s it? Honestly, the evidence stacked against that belief is too numerous to dismiss.

As for myself, I’ve experienced way too many of the above mentioned things to not believe in life after death. The one thing that has ever really bothered me most about “death” is those that happened violently. I just feel so awful for those people…imagining the horror and pain they must have endured before the relief of death. I would like to believe that even for them…the death experience was as peaceful as those who experienced a NDE have claimed it to be! Many spirits have claimed that their death wasn’t as bad for them as it seemed to us (the living). I guess we could liken it to the pain of childbirth (something I have experienced three times…without pain-killing drugs or epidurals!). As bad as the pain is…once the baby is out in the world, the pain is gone and all is forgotten. In fact, most of us (me!) were ready to do it again! I’d like to believe that even violent, painful deaths are like that. The memory like a bad dream that quickly fades into obscurity. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the spirit leaves the body when the trauma becomes too bad to endure and so they don’t really experience the worst of it. It’s a nice thought.

As for the video. It seems in all NDEs, the person wanting to cross over is told it isn’t time and that they must come back. So this tells me that those who didn’t come back…CHOSE to stay “over there”. It was their time and they were ready to move on (whether their loved ones left behind like it or not, unfortunately!). My grandfather suffered a stroke and was in a coma for several days before it was decided to remove him from life support. I really believe Grampy WANTED to move on but there we all were (his eight kids and numerous grandkids…me included!) begging him to hold on. Even though the doctors claimed he was “brain dead” it was a tough decision to “pull the plug”. The worry is always there if they did the right thing. Well, I managed to contact my grandfather through the process of automatic writing (scoff if you want but it really works and is an excellent form of communication with the other side!!). Now, I didn’t know anything about Grampy being removed from life support. I was in the military at the time and had already returned to my base when that decision was made. The family decided not to tell me how “it all went down” because my mom knew I’d be mad and she didn’t want me to be upset with her (she signed the order giving permission for the hospital to do the deed). First thing my Grampy did was tell me to let my mom know they had made the right decision. He said it was what he wanted but they wouldn’t let him go and he felt guilty about wanting to move on. (When they let the hospital remove him from life support, he saw that as his family giving him permission to do what he wanted. And he went. Happily.) There was more to the message and none of it made sense to me. In fact, I didn’t even want to tell my mother about it because I thought it would upset her. But she wheedled it out of me and when she got upset, I said, “See? I told you you wouldn’t like it!” and she said, “But I do. It’s exactly what I needed to hear!” Now my Nana (she died 3 months after Grampy)…she went the way I want to go. She died in her sleep and I am sure it was a very peaceful process for her. Much as I hated to lose them (it devastated me!), I only want what makes them happy and they are happy “over there”. Besides, they visit me often, they keeps tabs on the family and I feel their love every time I think about them. In spirit there is no separation.

So anyway, I went to read the Theosophy Watch blog and watched this video and I thought it a great topic for my own blog so I’ve reposted the video here. Though it is one woman’s “death” experience and sounds like so many other accounts of NDEs…going through a tunnel, seeing a light, being greeted…it also had a little something new that I found intriguing. She was told to come back and be a “light” in the world. She says that those (who are open to the spirit world) act as anchors for the “light” (God?) to come into our physical world. I found that quite interesting. She sounds like such a nice lady. Her voice is peaceful and you know she isn’t making it up. She just isn’t. It’s a little over five minutes and well worth the watch! Check it out.

JavaScript required to play Anne Horn.

So what do you think? She certainly doesn’t make death sound terrible and even though she was going through a horrific thing (her husband was choking her to death), she made no mention of that. None of it mattered. Amazing.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this! Until next time…Blessings to all and Peace Out!

Tags: Automatic writing, Death, Deborah J Hughes, Life after death, Spirit, Spirit Contact

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The Secret to a Happy Life

Filed under: beliefs, faith — 5 Comments

February 20, 2013

Cover of The Secret

When “The Secret” came out, I jumped on that band wagon as fast as a kitten pounces on rolling balls of yarn. The concept made sense to me and I immediately “tried” to incorporate the concepts into my daily life. The problem? My stubborn, don’t-believe-anything-unless-it’s-proven-beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt and always-expect-the-worst Ego! I don’t know about any of you but I can be very self-defeating at times! I can also be my own best friend. But that darned Ego of mine will jump in any chance it gets to ruin that friendship! It’s a constant battle…which is really age-old…you know the one I’m talking about – the “good versus evil” thing. (sigh) In fact, I think the Ego we all possess is the equivalent to “the devil on our shoulder” … the one that whispers all sorts of falsehoods and self-defeating flimflam in our ear.

Now I don’t really want to label my Ego as “evil”…because first of all, we are really quick to “label” things aren’t we? Once something gets a label then all sorts of problems start sprouting from it. Labels create … dare I say it? PROFILING! Yes. It does. Think about it…every time you paste a label on something, the description of that label defines its profile and that’s all she wrote, folks. Once a label is created, its damned near impossible to break free of it, and the opinions everyone wants to make of it. We can’t help it…our Egos make us do it (that little devil again!) and like it or not…we all must have an Ego to survive this physical, 3rd dimension world of ours.

I was in the military for twenty long-assed years. I say it that way because proud as I am of my service to our great country…it was not an easy career for me. I was in a career field that made me a big-time minority … a FEMALE in a MAN’S world (it was like 95 percent male!). How dare I, right? So anyway, my first label was “FEMALE” (not in the “she’s of the female gender” kind of female but in the “she’s a female in a career field she has no business being in and we are going to make her TRY and prove her worth over and over and yet it still won’t matter to us” sort of female). The second label (and the one that pissed me off more than the first one!) came as time went on…”Slut” (honestly I totally resent that darned word! It makes me cringe even typing it). That label came from the fact that I was often the only female in a sea of men and so the reasoning was that a good majority of those I chose to hang out with were more than likely my temporary bed partners (because men and women can’t be friends don’t-cha know). I tell you…I had it better than Casanova himself! (NOT!). The “slut” label actually came into play my second year in when I wash shipped off to Korea for a year (leaving behind my INFANT son…my first born, my pride and joy, the love of my life). My husband was sent to a different base because heaven forbid we get stationed together! There were 4 females in my unit at that base and we were all scattered to different work sections (either they tried to keep us together or they tried to keep us apart!). So we didn’t really see each other very much. I had two choices…hang out with my fellow male co-workers or spend a year in a strange foreign country all by my lonesome self. Though I like my own company, I also like to be around other people. Especially when I was over there, because when I was alone…I thought about how much I missed my baby! I soon learned through the fastest, most unrelenting, truth-has-no-purpose-here grapevine that EVERY male I was seen with was sleeping with me! Heck, I think they even had me hooked up with a couple of the girls! At first I was indignant. Then it got so ridiculous that it actually became amusing. I eventually joined in on the fun and made up some great “tall tales” of my own. I figured they shouldn’t be the only ones having fun in the story telling department. Especially as I’m a writer at heart and making up stories is my most favorite thing of all! Over time, I think I won most of them over and the slut rumors fell off…a little bit anyway. The new ones coming in had to be properly trained on this “labeling” problem and so it was ongoing (sigh).

So anyway…I’ve always been resentful of the story above and swore someday I was going to write about it! So, now that I’ve exorcised that out of my soul, I can get on with this post! Back to the labeling thing. My tireless Ego is always labeling things for me. I play along with it until I realize it’s getting out of hand and then I put on the brakes and try to undo the damage. Another word for “labeling” is “judging”. We assign labels, we pass judgments…it’s what our Egos are supposed to do. Let me tell you…conquering this aspect of the Ego is one of the biggest challenges we face in this world!! The worst of it? When we judge and label ourselves. Most of us are way too critical and hard on our selves. I see it all the time. “I’m stupid”, “I’m weak”, “I’m clueless”, “I’m worthless”, “I’m bad”, “I’m no good”, “I can’t” and so on and so on. Those are labels we’ve placed on ourselves (and often on others as well) and those are judgments. You want to be happy in life? Stop the labeling and judging. Easier said than freaking done! In fact…very few people have accomplished it.

Point in case: I am a big “reality TV” fan. I love to watch competition shows…The Voice, American Idol, X-Factor, America’s Got Talent, The Taste, Hell’s Kitchen, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Best Dance Crew (just to name a few). Never am I more judgmental than when watching those shows! I’m worse than the judges. In fact, I am judging them too while I’m at it!! Yeah, it can get pretty bad. I’m always like “What?! You picked him? You like her? You’re kicking him off the show? You kept her of all people?”… it seems I am more often than not, disagreeing with the judges judgments (because of course MY judgments are right! Right?). Recently, I let myself get worked up over the process now going on with American Idol. The judges were picking the next “Idols” to compete on the show and I’m all over it with the judgments and labels. I justify it by saying as long as I’m not telling them (the contestants) how I feel to their faces, it doesn’t matter. But you know…it does! It does because it matters to ME. I am affected by my judgments. And it finally hit me upside the head that I need to STOP!

And this is where that “secret to a happy life” comes in to play. Here me out. Have you ever heard a song, saw a movie or television show, read a book or a poem, saw a picture or other works of art that you thought was AWFUL? And YET…it was a hit, worth big money, and all-the-rage? How is it do you think that those things did so well EVEN THOUGH, in your intelligent opinion they were crap…or at least “not that great and certainly not worth the fuss”? For instance…Idol loves to humiliate people (and I’m really not liking this segment any more though I used to be amused by it) by putting their “worst hopeful try-outs” on the air and in such a way that you KNOW they are making fun of them. These are the singers that most people will agree don’t really have the “Idol star factor”. BUT…one year a contestant by the name of William Hung hit the “big time” and became an overnight sensation. Not because he was the “best singer to ever compete”, no. He was actually part of the “Idol’s worst competitors” segment. And this guy who would generally not be considered a great singer was selling his songs to a public fan base that loved him! You want to know Hung’s secret to his success? He BELIEVED in himself. He truly believed he had a great talent to share and the Universe went along with it. So this is my point…it DOES NOT MATTER if you are the BEST WRITER, or the BEST SINGER, or the BEST DANCER or whatever…you don’t have to be THE BEST. You just have to BELIEVE IN YOUR SELF.

That’s the whole message behind “The Secret”. I think that’s one of the messages Jesus tried so hard to get through our thick noggins! (which isn’t our fault really because the Ego does wrap us in a thick “fog” designed to keep us from THE TRUTH!). You know that whole “Seek and ye shall find” thing mentioned in the bible? Yeah…I think it was talking about seeking TRUTH through the process of believing in our self! Once we believe we are worthy, loving souls with the power to manifest our dreams and have the life we WANT, then accept it and KNOW it…happiness can and will be achieved!

I’m at the point where I now understand that successful, happy people are those who BELIEVE they are worthy of that success and happiness. They believe in themselves…they KNOW they have something worthwhile to offer the world and the Universe is going along with it because that’s how it works. Ever met a successful, happy person who thinks they are worthless and has no talent or anything worthwhile to offer anyone? I don’t think so. And no…it’s not because THOSE people actually DO have something to offer and really are worthy while all the rest of the sad, unsuccessful people do not fall into that category. I know plenty of people with awesome talent. My daughter for instance. She has a beautiful voice. Everyone tells her so. She enjoys singing even. BUT she doesn’t have enough belief in herself to do anything with it. And another thing…she’s beautiful. Really (and she didn’t get it from me I’m sad to say…and there you see it, my own judgment being passed!). But she doesn’t think she is beautiful. And so she’s sad a lot. I pray she comes to believe in herself for the beautiful, smart, talented, loving soul that she is. I feel this way about all my kids, by the way. They are all talented, smart, beautiful and wonderful people (am I lucky or what?!!). But that doesn’t mean they don’t struggle to master the secret to a happy life. Sadly, very few of us do master it. And the ones you THINK are happy and have mastered it? They probably haven’t either. I mean…look at that beautiful country star Mindy McCready that just committed suicide a couple days ago! She had an awesome talent…a beautiful voice, she was lovely…she should have been living the good life and some people probably thought she was…and she was so miserable she killed herself. And who would have believed that “TomKat” would have split (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes)? They made a beautiful pair, they had tons of money and talent and they were so in love (remember Tom jumping on that sofa while chatting with Oprah?). So, even those who SEEM to have it made…often don’t. It’s a lesson for us all when we see these so called “beautiful people…the rich and famous…the ones who have it all” fall to sadness, divorce, addictions and suicide. Obviously there had to be a major disconnect with their beliefs…either in themselves or with others…to fall into despair or out of love!

This pretty significant epiphany came to me last week while watching American Idol and the choosing of the top twenty contestants. I didn’t agree with all the judges choices. I thought some of those chosen were the wrong choices and that some of those that were let go was a huge mistake. And then, after letting my Ego take control for awhile and getting all sorts of annoyed, my nicer side (what I like to call my consciousness which is closely connected to my soul and thus the voice of reasoning and love!) finally had enough and spoke up. I listened.

“Deb, ” I said to myself, “you have got to stop getting upset and worked-up over other peoples’ success or failure.” (the “failure” I’m talking about in this case are those not getting chosen for the top twenty on American Idol!) How it works is simple. Those that made it through…they BELIEVED in themselves. They believe they have talent and thus something to offer. And they believed it over those who said, “I can’t believe it. They just made a huge mistake!” Now when I talk about people who believe in themselves…I’m not talking about the cocky ones who walk around as if they are the greatest thing since sliced bread (not that I really get that cliché because personally, I don’t think anything is greater than homemade bread and that isn’t sliced until you need it!). The ones that love tooting their own horn to a pretty high degree are usually not as confident as they sound. More often than not, you’ll probably discover that its a front for a lack of self-esteem…and thus a lack in “belief in self”. So back to my conversation. “Deb, you need to watch and learn. Those people who made the cut that you don’t think are as great as some of those who didn’t make it…THEY believe in their talent. THAT’S what got them through!” So, instead of getting all bent out of shape about it (I can get really emotionally attached to these shows, let me tell ya!), I’m going to try hard to remind myself when my Ego starts to rear its ugly head, that I should not be judging other peoples’ successes and failures. Their life is their journey to make and I have no right to pass judgment on it. I mean…after all…I want people to support MY dreams! I do! How often do I check to see how my book sales are coming along? How often do I check to see if anyone has left a review and what they had to say if they did? Speaking of reviews…people can really show their criticism or approval in very distinct ways! I get the full spectrum…”hated it!” to “love it!”and even a few in-betweens…”It was okay” or “not bad”. Those are judgments and they are wanted/expected/prayed for judgments! (the good ones anyway!) In all honesty though…even the bad reviews are something to be proud of. I mean…I made someone care enough to get annoyed or upset or whatever and then write about it!! Think about that one. How often have you been annoyed and done nothing? Because it just didn’t matter enough to do anything. So, the fact my book mattered enough…even to leave a bad review…well, then it moved them and that’s all any of us writers can hope for!

So that’s it. The secret to a happy life. BELIEVE that you are WORTHY! KNOW that everyone has something to offer and when you put yourself out there, believing that you have something worth while to give, then the Universe (God, the Creator, Infinite Intelligence…or whatever you call it) will go along with it and respond accordingly. And yes…I KNOW it’s easier said than done. Am I mega-successful yet? Meaning, have I sold a gazillion books? No. Have I made it to the New York Times Best Seller List (my longtime dream!!)? No. Though I did make it to the #1 spot on Amazon’s Free Books List and to the #1 spot on Amazon’s “Ghosts” books!! Baby steps. I’m still learning how to master this easy-peasy secret to a happy life. But my gosh is it HARD!!

So, here’s to wishing you success in your dreams. Here’s to believing in YOU and what you have to offer! Here’s to one of God’s greatest achievements! YOU!!! I think we forget that sometimes. We were all created by God and God does not make crap!! WE might turn things into crap…but God does not!

Until next time…Peace Out and Many blessings to all of you!!

Tags: American Idol, Idol, Reality television, The Secret, William Hung

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Our Sixth Sense and its Important Role in our Life!

Filed under: paranormal, supernatural — 3 Comments

January 26, 2013

I don’t know about you but when I hear the words “sixth sense” I always think about that movie in which those words “I see dead people” was made famous. But what is the sixth sense? The ability to see dead people? I think it’s more involved…more complex than that. Really, our sixth sense is often called “gut instinct” or “intuition”. It’s the feeling you get when someone is staring at you even though you don’t see anyone staring at you. It’s the feeling you get when you turn down a street that looks innocent enough and yet your gut is saying…turn around!! And when you ignore it, you are suddenly in a neighborhood surrounded by ruffians all wondering what the hell you think you are doing passing through THEIR turf! It’s the feeling you get when you KNOW something is wrong BEFORE the phone rings bringing bad news. So are you getting the gist of it? Most of you already know this…those of you that regularly read my blog anyway. More than likely you read the stuff I write because you are interested in spiritual matters.

The sixth sense we possess is our connection to the spiritual realm…to that of the “unseen” and the unsubstantiated. The things we get from our sixth sense are not often detected by our other five senses…our sight, our smell, our touch, our hearing, or our taste. When our sixth sense is activated, it is often felt in our solar plexus (which is also known in Eastern spiritual traditions as one of the seven Chakra locations present within the body (see image at beginning of this post). Because of its location, we often call it our “gut instinct”. We feel fear, anxiety, a heightened state of alert – or heightened feelings of any emotion really – right there within the solar plexus…our gut. Fluttery feelings might be the first thing you notice…or a tightening. God has given us all we need to survive in this very difficult world…our sixth sense is a HUGE part of that survival!!

I find it interesting that so many of us ignore or don’t give much credit to our sixth sense. If any of us were to look back on situations where we “knew” or “felt” we SHOULDN’T have done something or SHOULD have done something but ignored the feeling and came to regret it…well, that was the sixth sense at work. When it’s ignored, we are not going to experience the BEST-for-our-own-good result. Our sixth sense is meant to HELP us…to make our life EASIER or BETTER in someway. It is not going to lead us down a bad road or encourage a bad decision.

The problem we have with the sixth sense is our Ego – that part of our personality that pretty much runs our life. Don’t get me wrong…we need our Ego in order to function in this world…but we shouldn’t let the Ego RUN OUR LIFE. The Ego is one of our major life challenges…it is the one thing we must learn to tame and yet often it is allowed to intensify and grow stronger! The Ego often overpowers the “gut instincts” and those “feelings” you get that you can’t explain but bug you anyway. Our Ego will tell us that we can’t trust our “gut”, that we must go with logic and leave those silly, unsubstantiated feelings out of the equation! Truly, I think a major lesson we humans must learn is to calm the Ego to a point that we can operate more from our spiritual centers (those 7 Chakras I just mentioned!). I think those who achieve this…the taming of the Ego (from which fear, anxiety, uncertainty and the like abide) will achieve a life that Jesus tried to convince us we were capable of living! Now I ask you…did Jesus overcome his Ego or what? And for those who don’t believe in Jesus…what about Buddha? Or Mother Theresa? Or Gandhi? You get the idea, I think.

It was my sixth sense that got me through those years in that haunted house I lived in. For children, the Ego is in infancy…it acts as mental reasoning and logic based on input from the five senses. It’s quite a necessary part of children because they don’t understand their gut instincts or intuitive feelings. When I was young and living in that haunted house, my Ego created a lot of fear for me. Remember…the Ego perpetuates that particular emotion. The Ego will pitch itself against anything we are getting from our sixth sense and often, especially as children, we go with the Ego. It’s a major hurdle to overcome when entering the consciousness we call “life”.

I sensed in that drafty old farm house, a PRESENCE. I couldn’t see it but I FELT it and it’s the most unnerving thing to experience! I often knew when they were around before anything concrete happened. They moved things, they shook things, they bothered the animals, they made the house cold, they made odd sounds, they opened and closed doors and perhaps most annoying of all…they HID things! Yeah, they were pretty active at times! But I learned to combat my fear to some extent with prayer.

When I was seven, I became friends with Lori and her family was very involved in the Catholic church. Although I remember my parents holding Sunday School for a time in my younger years, I hadn’t had much exposure to biblical teachings. Through my friend Lori, I learned about God and Jesus. As I grew up, I often went to church with Lori and her family and eventually was baptized a Catholic when I was eighteen. Lori and I liked to read bits of the bible and then get into deep discussions about our thoughts on what we read. We were fascinated by Jesus and all his miracles. She gave me a bible that had all of Jesus’ sayings outlined in red and I read every one of them! Thanks to my friendship with Lori, I was given the means to protect myself against the negative entities existing within that farm house! I prayed for God’s protection every time I felt them near and always, I was protected. Nothing bad ever happened to me or my family. That doesn’t mean they didn’t affect us or raise a bit of havoc. There were times when there was a lot of anger in our home and I think negative energy from the spirits residing there affected us emotionally. There were periods, for whatever reason, when the spirits were absent and it was always during these periods that we had the most joyful moments of our time there!

As I grew older and began to read more on Chakras and our power as spiritual beings, I have learned to overcome much of my fear. It is the one single emotion that we all experience and the one emotion we must all learn to conquer in our journey to become again the enlightened beings we once were. I could be wrong and way off base here but it is my belief that we…those of us living in this physical world…are the fallen angels spoken of in the bible. Our Egos have cut us off from our connection to God (some more so than others!) and we have forgotten who we really, truly are. We have forgotten that we are all the spiritual children of God, capable of great things (and NONE of it negative in any way!!!). And if you are thinking…no, we are NOT capable in any capacity to that which God can achieve, then that’s your Ego talking!! Yes, yes, I know…it could very well be MY ego believing such a thing. But here’s the kicker…the Ego houses and perpetuates fear, anxiety, uncertainty and the like…God does not! So why would my Ego tell me I am capable of doing something that would end up taming it once and for all? Now, just because I BELIEVE that doesn’t mean that I’ve ACHIEVED enlightenment! That’s another challenge we have to overcome…learning to accept, without a shadow of a doubt, the things we believe in. That’s where the “faith the size of a mustard seed” comes into play! If only our Egos would stop making us doubt! Dang it.

Life is a constant challenge. But I really think the harder it gets, the more God is trying to help us! An odd statement I know but let’s think about it for a minute. When is it that we learn the most and come out all the better for the experience? When we overcome an adversity in some way…when we solve a problem, when we vanquish negativity. I have traveled down some bumpy roads in life, let me tell you! I’ve had several bad relationships and dealt with some nasty situations involving family, friends, acquaintances and coworkers and I got through it all relatively unscathed. Most importantly, I LEARNED something from every situation and experience! I am today, as we all are right this very minute, the sum total of all that I have lived and experienced. In the end, it comes down to this…how we REACT to life situations determines how well we have learned a particular lesson and will then determine how well we live and prosper. If life for you is tough and unbearable, then there are lessons facing you that must be learned…try if you can to figure out what the lesson could possibly be and then ask for guidance on solving the problem (the angels…our spiritual guides, are always ready and willing to assist if you but ASK!).

Another thing we must do is protect ourselves from negative energy forces out to attack us. People will often come into our lives that mean absolutely NO GOOD for us. They mean to do harm in some way and you must learn to protect yourself from these kinds of people. They are a necessary evil…another lesson to learn!! It’s endless, these life lessons (and I’m heaving a huge sigh here!!).

Not long ago I had a dream (which I believe is another way for our spiritual self…our soul…to communicate with us) about an evil entity that was attacking my home. The entity was very bad and it meant us (me and my family) harm. I was not afraid of this entity but I was upset with it for coming into my home and causing disruption. Instead of cringing in fear or fighting back with anger, I decided to vanquish it from my home. I did this with prayer. I asked for God’s protection and imagined God’s loving light…his glowing energy field of impenetrable protection…surrounding our home and my family. The negative energy grew strong with anger and tried to attack me. I drew from within me this incredible energy and with God’s help…we pushed the evil away. When I woke up, I couldn’t help but wonder why I would have a dream like that…profound and emotional though it was. Not a few days later, a negative person who has been slowly growing his evil towards us began his attack. Although my Ego initially took charge and I struck out with anger (which is very much a part of our Ego!), the only thing I achieved was increasing the attack against me (negative energy fighting negative energy only BUILDS more negative energy!! Please remember that!!). Once I managed to calm myself down, I immediately thought of my dream and realized that it was a warning and a solution to what was now occurring. So I calmed down and prayed for protection, trusting God to keep us safe from harm. I envisioned my home and my family as encased in God’s protective light and the evil receded. The picture to the left is the energy field that surrounds us…it is also called an aura! This energy field can be expanded to include whatever you choose to protect!

The only way to fight evil is WITH GOD. We cannot do it alone and we cannot do it with evil deeds of our own. It’s a tough lesson for our society today because everyone seems to be attacking everyone else!! It seems our Egos are growing stronger. But fear not! There’s a strong spiritual community growing among us. Right now it seems the scales are tipped toward Ego’s favor. You know that saying – “power corrupts”? I think it should be expanded on – “Egos growing in power corrupts absolutely!!

You know…I truly believe that those who give in to their Ego are aware of their “guts” telling them they are wrong to do or act or say or think what they do, but they ignore it. They dismiss it and try to close their minds to it. This is why our sixth sense is so important! We must learn to become more in tune with it…we must learn to trust it and recognize what it is trying to tell us. Our sixth sense is our one special gift from God. It is given to us to help us survive this often cruel, unforgiving world. It is God’s way of helping us learn our life lessons so that our souls may once again truly remember who we are…part of God – beautiful loving spiritual beings!!

So tell me…what do you think about all this? Have you had an experience with your “gut feelings” that you ignored and then wished you hadn’t? Have you ever “felt” something was about although you couldn’t see it? Are you going through tough times and dealing with negative people? How are you handling it? What are you learning? Please share!!

Until next time, many wonderful blessings to all and Peace Out!!!

Breaking Up with My Ego (janelondon.wordpress.com)

Tags: Chakra, ego, Id ego and super-ego, Jesus, New Age, Religion Spirituality, Sixth Sense, Spirit

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Finding Comfort From the After Life

Filed under: faith, ghosts, God, Long Isand Medium, Mediumship, Occult, paranormal, Spirit Communication — 13 Comments

December 29, 2012

As many of you who follow my blog know, I have been fascinated with the paranormal since living in a house I am convinced, beyond doubt, was haunted. I’ve since learned a lot and encountered a lot concerning the spirit world…as have many millions of others over the years! I’ve also been fascinated with books since I learned to read. As soon as I mastered writing…as much as an eight year old can master it!…I’ve been writing stories. Mostly, though, in the early years, I made up stories in my head…constantly! Many people in my life often accused me of being absent minded or claimed I had my “head in the clouds” or was “off in la la land” when the truth of it was quite simple…I was often lost in a story. I still tell myself stories when trying to fall asleep at night or when I’ve some idle time! I often rewrite a movie scene to my own satisfaction or I’ll rewrite scenes from a book I’m currently reading. It’s in my DNA. I swear it is. How does one NOT do something they feel so compelled to do? When something takes hold of you like that…I believe it’s your calling…what you were born to do. What you were meant to share with the world!

Although I read a LOT of romances, mostly regency and historical (but not limited to), I also LOVE stories involving ghosts!! They fascinate me to no end. This fascination has led me to try many things…crystal ball gazing, scrying (which is similar but doesn’t need a crystal ball, just any sort of shiny, clear surface), automatic writing, channeling, table tipping, séances, the Ouija or Spirit Boards. Yeah, I’ve dabbled quite a bit and the more I dabble, the more fascinated I become! Life truly does go on after physical death. For some of us, though, it’s easier for us to keep the two existences separated and beyond our conscious awareness. It can be quite scary, the spirit world…the UNSEEN. But for those who approach it with a pure heart…GOOD intentions and no malice whatsoever…well, I just don’t believe there is anything to fear. NOT to say there aren’t bad things going on. Obviously evil exists. Those who turn from LOVE (or, as I think of it…GOD) and who have negative feelings involved, they are the ones who fall to evil deeds or experiences.

Many people believe that anything to do with the paranormal is evil. Hogwash. GOD is part of the paranormal world and there is nothing evil about God. Not in MY BOOK! (smile). What makes something BAD is the use/thoughts/actions behind it. Even the Christian Cross has been used for evil deeds! But, does everyone think of it as an evil thing? No! Even the controversial gun has been used for good…keeping evil at bay even as some are using it to do atrocious, vile things!

I was completely shocked, disgusted and grief stricken at what took place in that poor school a short time back. How could anyone point a gun at a child…an innocent little child…and kill them? That is evil at it’s worst. Many people question how God could let something like that happen. But that’s the thing with this world we live in…we have this agreement with God that if we come here, we are free to act out our will. It’s what the rest of us do that determines the extent of the evil committed. Often in tragedy, people come together and something positive emerges out of it. Laws change, people look at things differently, appreciate what they have, give love to the grieving. LOVE often spikes after a tragedy. THAT is God at work…always working within us in the wake of a tragic deed.

Many of us utter the “meant to comfort” words, “They are now at peace with God, an angel in heaven” and I’m sure those of us who utter those words, mean it. We do. And that’s great. It really is. Of COURSE we hare happy that our loved one is at PEACE and now lives with GOD and is an ANGEL in HEAVEN but that doesn’t ease our pain, our sense of loss…the hole left in our heart, our soul and our life! I’m a mother of three, step-mother of four and grandmother to nine and the thought of losing any one of them makes my heart cringe in dread. It’s something I don’t EVER want to experience. But the grief would be worse if I didn’t believe their soul lived on in joy with God. Those of us who believe in the afterlife cling to that belief and try, somehow, to come to grips with tragic loss.

One way to move on is to make contact with a loved one who has crossed over. I recently started watching Long Island Medium and the show makes me cry just about every time! It’s so touching to see the relief on the faces of the grieving when Theresa (the medium) shares messages from “the other side”. It wasn’t until I experienced a similar experience that I truly understood the value of that kind of communication! When my grandparents died I was totally devastated. I truly wondered how I was going to go on through my life without them. I LOVED them with my whole heart and their deaths punched serious holes in that heart! Then one day, many years later, I experienced a spiritual reunion with my Nana. It was THE MOST AMAZING experience of my life!! I FELT her in my soul. I truly did. I don’t miss them so much anymore for they visit me in dreams, and when I am thinking about them…they will often give me a sign that they hear me! For example, my grandfather’s name is Lafayette. If I am thinking about him pretty hard, I’ll suddenly see his name…either on a license plate or a street sign…or from wherever! It’s not a common name and to see it right when I’m thinking about him is just too coincidental and let me tell you…coincidences are God (the afterlife) at work!!

For a while I was doing quite a bit of automatic writing and I managed to communicate with my grandfather this way. He gave me a few messages that made no sense to me but were made clear by my mother when talking to her about it. There was no WAY I could have known the things he told me. The messages could not have come from anyone else! Both my grandparents and my dearest uncle Paul (who died when I was 14 and he was 29) have come through a medium at the Spiritualist Church that I attend! The messages and descriptions made by the medium were too specific to claim coincidence! It was THEM. I KNOW it! I can’t even tell you how comforting that is to me!!

So, this fascination with the spirit world has influenced my writing considerably. All three of my books: “Be Still, My Love“, “Hidden Voices” and “No Matter What” are paranormal stories based on living persons dealing with the afterlife. As excited as I am to share those stories with anyone interested in those type of books, it’s the messages and emails I am getting from readers that truly warms my heart! People are telling me that they are finding comfort in my stories. How wonderful is that? I LOVE that someone feels BETTER after reading my books! We writers write for many reasons…to entertain, to amuse, to scare, to teach…the list goes on. I have been thinking hard about WHY I write. First, I write because the story in my head WANTS to be told but in the back of my mind, I am hoping that the readers come away from the story with something worthwhile. I want readers to think about other options and ideas and concepts. AND, I want them to be entertained! I want to share stories because I LOVE stories myself!!

It’s a tough world and I truly find the books I read to give me some relief from it all. The romances give me romance, the mysteries give me intrigue, the humor makes me laugh and the ghost stories give me thoughts to ponder. The thing is…creativity comes from where? I believe it comes from Universal Forces (GOD!). I am moved to create what I do for a reason. There has to be a REASON why I wrote those three books and when readers write to tell me that they feel better after reading them, well, it just all becomes worthwhile and meaningful. I will admit…in all fairness and honesty…that not everyone likes my stories! Oh no! I’ve been ripped into pretty good by those who don’t like stories that mention God or spiritual views (religious matter they call it…though I try to stay away from “religion” in any specific sense). My reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are varied: from very bad to very good. Obviously I’ve moved people in positive and negative ways! (sadly!) But then, we all get something different out of the books we read (or the movies we watch!), don’t we? Sorry as I am for those people who dislike my stories, I focus on those who feel better and have gotten something positive from the experience. I do this not because the dissatisfied readers aren’t important (besides, you CAN’T please everyone no matter how much you wish that you could!). No, I focus on the positive because it is NOT my intention to upset anyone! Heavens no! So if someone dislikes my story, I’m sorry for that and wish them well in finding stories that they do like but I’m not going to stop writing! The truth is, some people are going to be negative no matter what you do and that can’t be helped. We are in a “free will” world after all!!

So anyway. I write what I do because it fascinates me. It gives me comfort. I totally enjoy it and I really love it when readers get something useful and comforting from it! With all my heart, I wish you all many blessings! Until next time, PEACE OUT!!!

May the NEW YEAR be filled with blessings! Lots and lots of them!!!

PS: All three of my books are on sale for just 99 cents until January 1st if you are curious and want to check them out! But be warned…God is very much a part of the stories, but not too much so!! I’ve no wish to “preach” anything to anyone though they do offer some different spiritual views shared by the characters!

Exploring Paranormal Mysteries! (deborahjhughes.com)

Tags: Death, God, Ouija, paranormal, Spiritualist Church

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A Broken Heart Hurts More During the Holidays

Filed under: angels, beliefs, Christmas, faith, family, love — 9 Comments

December 12, 2012

Marriage Day (Photo credit: Fikra)

It’s the holiday season of love and all around us we are surrounded with music, joyous color and beautiful twinkling lights. Life is quite magical during this time of year because many people are focused on all that is good with the world and thinking about ways to give those they love a merry Christmas or a happy Hanukkah or whatever it is they celebrate. BUT…not everyone is full of holiday cheer. For some people this is also one of the most depressing times of year. Those who are grieving grieve more, those who are unhappy and sad are even more so. No doubt about it…the month of December amplifies feelings…good and bad.

Since I celebrate Christmas, I am not going to say “holiday” so if that offends anyone (though, truly, I fail to see any offense especially when none is meant in any way whatsoever!)…well, sorry. The option is open to not read any further. Honestly, though, it doesn’t matter your belief and what you do or do not celebrate…what truly matters is the state of your heart. Which in turn often affects the state of your life. If your heart is hurting or your life a mess…then Christmas (this particular time of year) magnifies those states to a pretty high degree. I’m sure you’ve heard the statistics declaring that suicides are high in December. If you are lonely and are unhappy with your life or missing someone you love…then you REALLY feel that when everyone around you is focused on being happy and spending time with loved ones. What if the one you WANT to spend time with is no longer here? HOW do you deal with that? What if your family has fallen apart due to divorce? MAJOR upheaval almost always results from a marital break-up…especially when children are involved. It isn’t only heartbreak to deal with but often financial disaster too. And what if you have your marriage and family in tact, aren’t missing anyone BUT you’ve lost your home, or COULD be losing it? Or you haven’t a job? OR, you do have a job but it doesn’t pay enough to cover the bills let alone Christmas!

Life is freaking tough. It is challenging and disappointing and hurtful. It is also joyous, loving, rewarding and delightful…BUT, not when you are suffering in any way.

I have been through enough heartache in my life to know what it feels like to both celebrate Christmas and all the joys that come with it…and to cry my way through it because of all the other crap life has thrown my way. One of the worst Christmas’s for me was right after my divorce. I had three kids, they depended on me to give them the Christmas they have always enjoyed…the making of cookies, the hanging of lights, the gifts, the music…all of it. But my heart was aching and I couldn’t bring myself into feeling anything but sorrow. For them I tried to put on a happy face. But I had no money to buy them gifts, no money to buy cookie making supplies, no money to even make a Christmas dinner. I remember worrying through that Christmas with constant fear that they would not be happy on Christmas day. It’s hard to hide the tears falling like a steady rain in your heart. Thanks to my friends and family, the kids had presents under the tree and though it wasn’t what they asked for, they were happy. We were invited for dinner elsewhere so we didn’t have to worry about that either. I don’t think my children were traumatized by that Christmas as much as I was. I remember setting out the kids’ gifts that awful Christmas Eve and crying my heart out. I was not happy with my life and I had no joy in my heart. I loved my kids and was thankful for them…but they did not fill the other gaping holes gouged in my heart. They did, however, get me through that Christmas. Some people don’t even have that.

Someone I am close to is now going through what I went through that awful year and under almost the same circumstances (isn’t it weird how life can repeat itself in a family?). He has three kids and they are about the ages that mine were when my marriage fell apart. He told me yesterday: “I need to vent a little bit if you don’t mind.” (he said it in a calm voice, an almost incredulous look on his face…a “how did I get to this” kind of look). So I give him my attention and wait for his venting to begin. He continues in a calm voice, “I have nothing in my life. I just lost my wife, two of my kids (they were his wife’s kids from a previous relationship but he thought of them as his) and my home. I have no job, about a dollar to my name and nothing to show for my life. This isn’t how I expected things to be. This isn’t where I thought I would be at this time of my life.” I KNOW how he feels and it totally sucks. Pointing out to him the positive aspects of his life doesn’t change the facts as he stated them. He has a supportive family and he has his three children whom he had to fight hard and long for during his first divorce (yes, he is now going through yet another!). Finding THE ONE…the one significant other that you can spend the rest of your life with is one of the hardest treasure hunts you’ll ever conduct!

When you are sad and hurting, everyone wants to point out all the positive things in your life to help lift you up. That’s all well and good BUT it doesn’t make you feel better. In fact, sometimes it makes you feel worse because you are feeling bad EVEN THOUGH you have those other things! Yes, I was happy to have my kids (they have been my lifeline when I was drowning in hurt) BUT my hurt was coming from the loss of my marriage and all the memories we shared together (doesn’t it suck when you can’t SHARE memories? That’s part of the joy of having them…sharing them with the person who encountered them with you). Yes, I had friends and family to help give me things that I needed…food, clothes, Christmas gifts for the kids…BUT the fact remained that I was not capable of acquiring those things myself and I was without a life partner. I was in the military during my divorce and was living in base housing so I had a house to live in and didn’t have to worry about rent and utilities. I was grateful for that. I truly was! BUT, I didn’t have enough money left after paying bills to buy decent groceries or clothes for my kids. I constantly worried about that. I was always scrounging for change, counting pennies and praying for miracles. Those miracles came…eventually and when really needed (see God, Money, Faith). I can look back on those hard times now and chalk them up as experience…a time of learning and discovery. Learning my strength, discovering my true friends and knowing that God gives us what we need when we need it.

I don’t know if you’ve read The Secret or not but I sure did and I think it’s a great concept. I also believe in its message. I ought to…I’ve had many things manifest in my life that I’ve dreamed of and wished for. BUT, until your wish or dream or need is fulfilled, you still have the sorrow and hurt to deal with! HOW to do it? WHY does life has to be so darned challenging? For all the wonderful messages being thrown out at us to BELIEVE and receive, it isn’t so easy to do that when your life is a mess and/or your heart broke.

Relationships are hard. They are what make or break our life. There are many books and lots of advice given that you must love yourself and be your own best friend and the rest of the world will fall at your feet. BUT, relationships are what makes our life tolerable, joyous, hurtful or sad. The relationships we have with family and kids certainly play a HUGE role in our lives. A momentous role. BUT…it’s the relationship we have with our significant other (our partner, our lover, our other half) that seems to be the driving force behind our happiness. I can say this because DESPITE my wonderful kids, my awesome friends, my supportive and loving family…I was not happy because my marriage fell apart and I lost my partner. Even now, when things are not well between me and my husband…none of the other stuff that is right with my life…all the wonderful family and friends that I have…is enough to make me truly happy. My joy, it seems, rides on my personal relationship with my husband.

Almost every person I know seems to be happy or not depending on the status of their personal relationship with their partner (I don’t say “spouse” here because a lot of people just live together, besides, this also pertains to boyfriend/girlfriend relationships). There are some people who don’t care about their lack of a partner or who don’t care that the one they do have is not all they wanted. That’s awesome for them. BUT, that doesn’t help the rest of us who do seem to hinge our true state of happiness on how it’s going or not going with our “significant other”. This explains how even those who seem to “have it all” (money, a wonderful career, lots of support) end up unhappy and sad…so much so that some even choose to end their life! Princess Diana always comes to mind when I think about someone who “had it all” and yet was very sad. She had some of the best life had to offer: two awesome boys, beauty, riches, love from the world at large…but she was not happy in her marriage and she suffered immensely because of it.

It would be nice if we could learn to be happy with ourselves and accept that anything beyond that is extra icing on the cake of life…but I have no answers on how to get there. Thing is, it’s hard to be happy with ourselves when we aren’t in a good relationship, or have a job we enjoy or don’t have a job at all! It’s hard to enjoy ourselves if others are giving us grief in some way. It’s hard to enjoy ourselves for many, many reasons. The fact is, life is hard. The hardest thing we’ll live through! I think it does help, though, to know that we aren’t alone in this mess. Young or old, rich or poor, we all endure the same feelings. We all want to be loved…and not just by friends and family, but by one special person. Okay…maybe not ALL of us…but I think it’s safe to say that a good majority of the world population wants that.

There’s no answer on how to make this part of our life easier or to make it go more smoothly but it DOES help to know that we aren’t alone. Being alone is the worst thing ever. Aside from those we have in our life…we also have many watching over us in the afterlife. Now, some of you won’t believe that and those that don’t probably don’t read my blogs! But, if you are following my blog, then you probably share SOME of my beliefs and one of them is in God. I also believe strongly in angels…be they Guardian Angels or Spirit Guides or just loved ones who have passed on but keep a loving “eye” on us! (in fact, it was these beliefs that inspired me to write Be Still, My Love!) My life started turning around from abject misery when I began reading material about angels and learning more about them. My life got better…and eventually I did meet my true Soul Mate!! It was my belief in angels, though, that helped my heart to heal…because I knew…just KNEW life could only get better having them on my side. You have to consciously reach out to them though. They can’t just interfere with our life…we must ask to receive their help. It’s just one of those universal laws. That’s why the “ask and you shall receive” thing is such a POWERFUL statement! Asking from the HEART is one of the fastest ways to achieve our wants! Asking out of greed, anger, jealousy and any other negative emotion does NOT bring about what we want. It’s the love in our hearts…be they broken or not…that heals all wounds. Every last one of them!! So, if you are hurting…seek love wherever you can get it…family, church, organizations…and GIVE love back. It will change your life for the better. And that’s my message today.

When I say “Many blessings to you”, I truly mean it from my heart…I am asking the angels (and thus GOD!) to bless your life many, many times over. So, as we go through this challenging month of December…I wish you many blessings and much joy. I wish for you to discover the awesomeness of the angels and KNOW you are not alone…ever. Until next time…Peace Out!!!

Broken Hearts and Christmas (lynnecobb.com)
Losing Loved Ones at Christmas (recisdempayos.wordpress.com)

Tags: Christmas, Christmas and holiday season, holiday

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Exploring Paranormal Mysteries!

Filed under: haunted house, Hauntings, paranormal, Past Lives, Reincarnation, Spirit Communication, supernatural — 1 Comment

November 12, 2012

I LOVE paranormal stories. They scare me, make my skin crawl and often induce me to sleep with a light on, but even so, I enjoy them! I don’t like blood and gore stuff, though. That stuff grosses me out. Spooky stuff…THAT’s the kind of stories that make your hairs stand on end. I probably enjoy ghost stories because there’s such mystery surrounding them. And because I lived with dead people for awhile. That sort of puts things into perspective…makes you realize that there’s more to life…and death…than what we think we know. In truth, it’s from what we don’t know, that our fears grow.

Ever since I was little and lived in a haunted house, I’ve wanted to know WHY spirits linger in “our” world (the land of the physically living) once they’ve passed on into their new one (the great “hereafter”). Not everyone hangs around haunting the living. So WHY? Do ghosts have fears? Fear is a huge stumbling block for most of us. We must conquer fear in every aspect of our lives…in the here and now, and in the afterlife. At least, that’s what I think. I could be wrong. And I could be right. On the off chance I’m right, I am hoping to get things figured out well ahead of my appointed time to ‘cross over”. I have no intension of hanging around scaring the bejezus out of my loved ones. There are a few others I could think of that might be fun to scare, but honestly, I’m hoping there are better things to do when I get “over there” than to amuse myself scaring those who annoyed me when I was alive!

I’ve come to believe in reincarnation for various reasons (see Reincarnation Fact or Fiction?) and so I’m always wondering how my past lives are affecting my current one. When I was in the military, I was in a tough career field. It consisted mostly of men (about 98%) and the few women there were…well, you had to be tough or stupid to stick it out (I put myself in each category through alternating points of my life!). Over and over I met up with the most difficult of supervisors and co-workers. And over and over I would say…WHY do I keep coming up against the same kind of people over and over again? Each new base I was assigned, I would hope things would get better…and NO, that wasn’t often the case. Each time I encountered the same difficult, over-bearing people I’d encountered at the previous base. I came to wonder if it was just me. Was I such a loser to be messed with so much? No. I wasn’t. I had lessons to learn and yes, I eventually learned them and let me tell you…once you figure out a problem…it really does go away! So, I started asking myself…have I encountered these people before and they are just getting me back for a past life transgression? How do I even out the Karma and stop the cycle of retribution, revenge and whatnot? Really, when you start approaching people and events this way, you look at it all quite differently. Suddenly I’m not resentful but curious.

Since I constantly wonder about reincarnation, karma, past lives and the like, it’s only natural that as a writer I am going to write stories featuring these interests. No Matter What is one of my most intriguing stories. I’m quite proud of it. I really wanted to explore all the issues about life and death in this book. Why are we here? What happens when we fulfill our purpose? Just how much does a past life affect us? What about Heaven? What about Hell? The questions mounted and No Matter What practically wrote itself. I was a spectator to my own story, as eager as a first time reader to find out what was going to happen next! If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost wonder if I channeled the story somehow. It sounds corny I know but there you have it.

So, I wrote my story and I’ve put it out there for anyone else who might enjoy a story involving ghosts, reincarnation and past lives. Because I’m a Veteran and proud of it, I thought…why don’t I share my baby with the world at no cost? So on November 12th and 13th (my favorite number by the way!), I’m going to offer my special baby for FREE! For any of you paranormal enthusiasts…I sure hope you enjoy it!! And however you feel…leave a review and let us know! Thanks so much for visiting my blog and sharing some time with me.

Many blessings to all and Peace Out!

Reincarnation: Fact or Fiction? (deborahjhughes.com)

Tags: ghosts, Karma, paranormal, Paranormal Activity, Reincarnation

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Top Twenty Spooky Movies

Filed under: paranormal — Leave a comment

October 28, 2012

Click the link below to read my updated post on some of the best spooky movies for your chilling pleasure!

Top Twenty Spooky Movies.

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Reincarnation: Fact or Fiction?

Filed under: Brian Weiss, Edgar Cayce, ghosts, Numerology, Occult, paranormal, Past Lives, Reincarnation, supernatural — 25 Comments

October 25, 2012

In honor of my newest book release NO MATTER WHAT, a paranormal thriller based on the concept of reincarnation, I thought I’d post some thoughts on this controversial topic.

People either believe in it pretty strongly or they don’t buy it at all. Some might be on the fence about it but even they are more skeptical than not. There was a time, though, when the majority of the human population believed in reincarnation. Now, I could quote books that cover this subject and try to state my case in why I believe in it with data from others, but why? I have found that our beliefs are strengthened through personal experience more than anything else. So, I want to share MY experiences and thoughts on it and I’d love for others to share theirs as well. I would. The subject is fascinating!

So anyway. I first heard of reincarnation from various paranormal and occult books I picked up in high school (we had a pretty decent school library, I have to say!). I was doing some research on the paranormal because of that haunted house I was living in at the time (I’ve published several blog posts on my ghostly encounters if you’re interested!). I was determined to learn what I could about the spirit world and reincarnation was often mentioned. Many ancient cultures believed in it and most Eastern religions still do today. In fact, some cultures didn’t just BELIEVE it, they accepted it as a known FACT! I mean…ever watch those fascinating History or Discovery Channel shows on the Egyptians? They took the whole thing quite, quite seriously.

I have to say, though, that is was the book Audrey Rose that really fired up my interest! I don’t know why but I really identified with that story!! Sure it was a work of fiction but after reading other books about non-fictional accounts of Past Life memories, it seemed pretty darned plausible to me. I mean, here’s our hope that we aren’t all doomed for hell! I try to live by a decent moral code but I am no Mother Theresa. So, am I destined for hell? I enjoy a drink on occasion (those new Whipped Pinnacle Vodkas are going to be my downfall!), I have a temper and (dare I admit it?) let loose on a few choice words every now and then that would be better left UNSAID! I can be pretty critical about anything and everything (and then I get on my own case about it!). It is no fun airing my faults but the fact is, most of us have some, and many of those vices or faults we fall victim to are considered SINS! (sigh)

As for one of the really bad sins, well…I haven’t killed anyone DIRECTLY but I was in the military and I can’t say for sure that any of the weapons I prepped for the pilots to use didn’t end up taking a life or two. Does that make me guilty by association? Are the military exempt? Some say yes, others say no…who is right? Does it matter? Not if reincarnation comes into play!

My favorite authors on this subject are Edgar Cayce the Sleeping Prophet (he’s truly amazing!!) and Dr. Brian Weiss who is on a book tour right now for Miracles Happen: The Transformational Healing Power of Past-Life Memories.

Another reason I came to accept this belief is my own gut-feeling on the subject. When I read about it, there was this sense of acceptance deep within. Now, your gut feeling might tell you otherwise. And if that’s the case, whose gut is right? Now THERE’S a question! My belief is this: regardless what we believe, if it’s true, then it’s true and if it’s not, then it doesn’t matter much because we won’t be back to ponder the question again! (smile) Will believing in it send us to hell if it isn’t true? Good Lord, I think our LOVING God is more merciful than that. I’m sure he’ll straighten us out when we get over “there” (on the “other side”).

Other than all the stories I’ve read on it, I’ve had a few amazing dreams that have helped me along with this belief. I was still in high school when I had this dream that I was a male soldier (I guess our genders don’t much matter in the whole reincarnation process) and in the middle of a war battle. I didn’t recognize the uniform I was wearing but later I was able to match it to those similar to those worn during the World War I/II era. So anyway…I was right in the middle of battle, shooting at the enemy when suddenly we were getting overrun! We were told to retreat but I stumbled and fell. Knowing I could not get away, I tried to play dead. The enemy wasn’t having it. They surrounded me, lifted their guns and shot me several times. Now really, I’m thinking THOSE soldiers committed the worst deed but I’ll leave them to their Karma and worry about my own. I remember feeling very HOT and then I was suddenly floating over my body and feeling no sense of attachment to the bloody mess below me! I woke up right after that and my feet were literally burning! I had to jump out of bed and walk around on the cold floor to cool them off. That dream seemed so real and unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Interestingly enough, when I joined the Air Force right after high school and had to shoot a gun for the first time ever, I missed qualifying as an Expert Shot by a couple points! Not to worry…I made up for it the following year!! (smile)

The general thought on reincarnation is that our current lives are influenced in one way or another by previous life experiences. Scared of heights though there’s no explanation for it? Maybe you fell to your death in a previous life! Afraid of water? Maybe you drowned in another life! I really address this very thing in my newest book No Matter What.

Another dream I had was even more amazing! I dreamed an entire LIFETIME in one night! I went through it all…birth, childhood, teenage years, young adult, marriage, children, grandchildren. In that dream I died of old age surrounded by my large loving family! As soon as I died in the dream, I woke up and I couldn’t shake those memories for quite some time. It was so bizarre! So darned REAL!

But, what really clinched the whole reincarnation belief for me was my son. He wasn’t yet two years old when he came to me one day while I was preparing dinner in the kitchen. He tugged on my pants to get my attention and I looked down at him. He had a very puzzled look on his cute little face. “What, Wes?” I ask and he cocks his head to look up at me and very seriously he asks, “Where is my wife?” Now, I didn’t even know Wes knew what a wife was! (and just so you know…he had a great vocabulary for his age!). I say to him, “What wife?” and he shakes his head in frustration because he really, truly wants to know. “My wife. You know, when I was a man and I had a wife? Where is she? I miss her!” and I tell him I don’t know where she is. He turns away all dejected and heads for the couch where he sits down to cry. I go to him and try to offer comfort. He continues to tell me about how he used to be a man and now he’s a kid but when he was a man he had a wife and he really liked her. Now, Wes often made similar comments about being “a man”. He’d say stuff like, “When I was a man, I drove a truck.” or “When I was a man, I did this” or “did that” or whatever. Because I believed in reincarnation, I did not ridicule or dismiss Wes’s comments and questions. I also was careful not to “feed” them.

I remember one afternoon while driving down a country road, Wes suddenly spoke up all excited. “Mommy! I remember this place! This is where we had the accident.” Now really, should a two-year old kid be talking like that? “What accident?” I ask. “When I was driving the car and the truck hitted us. You know, when I was a man.” and then “Where is my wife? I miss her.” He was always so sad when mentioning his wife. I wish I’d tried to look it up about there being a car accident in the area Wes identified but I didn’t.

I think the incident that bothered me the most with my son was the night I was tucking him into bed and noticed how sad he was. I asked him what was wrong. His big brown eyes looked into mine and he said, “I don’t want to die again. I don’t like that.” Then he tells me that he liked being a man and wanted to know why he had to be little again. For a two-year old, Wes was pretty obsessed with death. He hated to watch anything on TV that involved it. He would get so upset and cry and then we’d have to talk about how the stuff on TV wasn’t real and no one really died. In fact, my son talked about being a man so much and had such an obsession about death that my friends were often “weirded out” by him.

The general consensus among believers is that very young children often do remember snippets of their past lives. But as they age, the memories fade. The last time Wes talked about his past lives was when he was about four. He claimed he was a pilot in the Korean War and died getting shot down! He knew far more than a little kid should know about aerial dog fights and honestly, where would he even hear of the Korean war? I NEVER watched war stories and I certainly didn’t let Wes watch them. I think that pretty much set it in my mind.

One of the things on my Bucket List is go undergo a Past Life regression. I’d love to find out who I’ve been before. It might explain a lot about myself. In any case, it would satisfy my curiosity!

The subject has truly fascinated me since I first learned of it and I love stories that involve the concept. I first came up with the story idea for No Matter What when I was in high school. I started it but never finished it (as was the case with many book ideas). Twenty years later I found the notebook containing the partially written story on my bed and took it as a sign from the Universe to finish it! So I did. What I loved about writing that story was the fact I could explore a lot of my beliefs through the characters. Hauntings interest me…there’s a ghost. Numerology interests me…one of the main characters dabbles in it! As for the reincarnation theory…well, there are several reincarnated souls all working on current life issues that stem from their past life actions!

My hope is that when people read that story, they find some hope that nothing is hopeless! Because it isn’t. No matter what, we are all going to heaven. Eventually. After a few lives or so!! (smile)

Okay, that’s it for now. What are your thoughts? Have you had any experiences with this? I’d love to hear your stories, beliefs, arguments…whatever. Until next time! Many blessings and Peace Out!

Have a GREAT HALLOWEEN!! May it be truly SPOOKTACULAR.

Where Spirits Dwell (deborahjhughes.com)
Brian L. Weiss, MD, NY Times Bestselling Author and Past Life Regression Expert Announces New Book, Miracles Happen (prweb.com)
13 Inspiring Books and Movies on the Paranormal! (deborahjhughes.com)
Reincarnation (jeromeyers.wordpress.com)

Tags: Audrey Rose, Brian Weiss, Edgar Cayce, Reincarnation, Religion and Spirituality

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8 Ways to Contact the Dead!

Filed under: ghosts, Hauntings, meditation, paranormal, Spirit Communication, supernatural — 13 Comments

September 28, 2012

I’m not a medium nor am I a psychic, but I have managed to interact with the spirit world because this ability is something we ALL have. We all have it because, when you boil it down to the nitty gritty…we are all Spiritual Beings! Now, some are fortunate to be naturally well connected to their spiritual self (like mediums and psychics!) but some of us are not. If you are in the “are not” group like me, that just means we have to work a little harder, exert a little more effort, to make spirit contact happen. And that’s because our BELIEFS are often holding us back. If you don’t think you can talk to spirits, you probably won’t. But, if you are interested in giving it a try, I’m going to give you a few ways to go about it that have worked for me.

In all honesty, I’m doing this post to celebrate my first book BE STILL, MY LOVE! (the picture on the left is an older book cover and not the one currently being used but I like it so thought I’d use it for this post). It’s been published since the 13th of December 2011 and has had over 24,000 downloads! Amazing. Truly amazing. I think the spirit world helped me write it. Okay…I think the spirit world helps me write everything I write but that’s another story. So anyway, I am getting ready to take it off Amazon’s KDP Select Program so I may offer it to KOBO readers and NOOK readers and whoever else wants to give it a go! BUT, before I take it off the program, I’m offering it for FREE today and tomorrow only (28 and 29 Sept 2012). If you are interested in ghosts and you don’t mind references to God (how do you leave God out of a spiritual interaction?) then you might like it! At the very least, it’s FREE so it won’t cost you anything but some time to check it out.

Okay, NOW for those ways to talk to the dead!

1. The Ouija Board. Now before you start cringing and making signs of the cross, let me just say a few things about this EASY form of spirit communication. It really does work but the problem is it works whether you BELIEVE it or not, and that makes it a little dangerous. Meaning this: whenever you make contact with the spirit world, you are sort of opening a portal between our world and theirs. You MUST be responsible about this. Before using a Ouija, you need to be in a positive frame of mind and please…don’t be under any drug or alcohol influence! Before you begin…PRAY. Yes, pray. I say The Lord’s Prayer because I think it’s a pretty powerful prayer and it has never let me down! Which means I’ve had no negative experiences with the Ouija. I haven’t had negative experiences because I am being responsible, positive, I pray for God’s protection, I don’t do drugs and I am not buzzing on alcohol! As in every form of spirit contact, you must make it clear that you are allowing only positive energy forces to come through. You are looking to make loving contact with someone you know or someone who needs to communicate who has nothing but positive reasons for doing so! When you are done, you thank the spirits, make it clear the session is ended and you put the board away. Portal closed.

2. Table Tipping. Now this one is sort of fun. It actually works as easy as the Ouija and it must be treated with the same respect. Pray first. If you don’t want to pray to God (spirit contact can happen no matter your religious beliefs) then at the least imagine yourself, the table and the others around you, as being surrounded by white light. This is a protective light and is as real to the spirit world as it is imagined in yours. The table should be round or square and not very big. A small end table works great! The lighter the table, the easier it is to “tip” and that’s only because it takes less energy to get it going. It must be a sturdy table though because it can really get to rocking and a weak table will probably end up getting broke. It also works better if the legs are not even with the edge of the table (for the square ones). I’ve used a lightweight card table before but I prefer to use round tables, they work best. So, you and whoever is doing it with you, all put your hands flat on the top of the table. Don’t press down hard, just lightly rest your hands on the table. After your prayer has been said or you’ve all imagined your white light, you then make it clear to the spirit world that you are looking to make positive, loving contact. Then you wait. The table should start giving off a silent “hum” of energy. Hard to explain, but you feel “something”. It might begin to shimmy a bit. This means energy is building in the table and a spirit is preparing to come through! Encourage the spirit to communicate with you, this encouragement helps increase the energy. Tell them to tip the table when they are ready to talk. After awhile, it should start rocking! Yes and no questions work best…tip once for yes, twice for no…that sort of thing. But you can have the spirit spell out words by going through the alphabet with each tip of the table. It really is a lot of fun to do with a group of people. But remember…it’s serious business. It’s not a game so be RESPONSIBLE! When you are done, make it clear you are done. This closes the “portal”.

3. Flashlight. Yes! You read that right. This one is a little harder but it does work. Take a flashlight (the twist on and off kind work best) and twist it just before it comes on. Set it down on a flat, solid surface (nothing that vibrates easy) then invite a spirit to come speak to you! Yeah, that’s it. But again, it’s best to say a prayer and/or imagine the white light (I do both). Also, make it clear you are looking for positive spirit communication. Nothing negative! You can only do yes and no with this one…positive responses will make the flashlight come on when you ask a question. Or maybe negative responses will make the flashlight come on…you need to make it clear to spirit how to communicate with you. Clarify it with them…for yes responses, turn on the flashlight or tell it that you want the flashlight to come on for no responses. Whatever you prefer.

4. Automatic Writing. This one is actually pretty easy too but so many people think they are doing the writing (making it all up) that they don’t believe they are truly talking to spirit. You need lots of paper for this and a good pencil or pen. Sit quietly with your pen in hand and resting on the paper. Do your usual preparation…prayer, white light, intentions…and wait for the pen to start moving. Spirit will come through and talk to you. Their words will enter your head like a thought and if you are relaxed and concentrated enough, your pen should start moving along with your thoughts. You sort of have to be in a meditative state to do this so keep that in mind. This one takes a lot of patience but once you’ve done it and it gets going, it’s pretty easy.

5. Scrying. This is sort of like crystal ball gazing. You can use a crystal ball, or a mirror or any shiny surface. People in the days of old used small bodies of water. This is another one that takes patience. You have to be in a meditative state to make this work. Once you’ve done your preparations, you must then put yourself in a very relaxed state. Your conscious mind must be quiet to make this work and that is very difficult to accomplish! Do we EVER shut up? Seriously. Even during sleep my mind is active…dreaming to beat the band and all that. So anyway, this also works best in a semi-darkened room (less distraction and mood setting) with a candle (preferably white just to keep with the positive theme…you know, white for the light of God and black for darkness and things not in tuned with God). Though honestly, I don’t think the candle color matters unless it matters to you. So anyway. You sit relaxed, quiet your mind and stare at the clear surface…the mirror or the crystal ball or whatever it is you are using. Let your eyes relax too, they will sort of go out of focus. Eventually you will see a haze and then, if you can keep calm and not get excited and start your mind chatter back up (which often happens to me, darn it!), you should be able to access the spirit world successfully. You might see images of people you know who have crossed over or you might see past or future events. If it’s spirit contact you are hoping for, you should see the person you want to talk to. Really, this form of spirit contact should be for specific people you are hoping to connect with and not a “free for all” like with the Ouija and Table Tipping.

6. Meditation. Though mediation is mostly used to relax your mind and enjoy being one with your spirit, you can also access the spirit world while in a meditative state. This will all happen through your imagination and there’s nothing wrong with that. Our imagination is a direct link to spirit! We just don’t think of it that way and we certainly don’t often use it for conscious spirit contact! When I go into a meditative state, I feel closely connected to the spirit world and I often have a gentle spirit come through. I call her my guardian angel. The energy around me has a warm, energized buzz about it and I know she’s coming when I start feeling that. Her thoughts enter mine and are very distinct and separate from my own internal voice. I’ve had some of the most profound experiences during meditation! I just don’t do it enough. I usually don’t have the time or the patience. Sad that.

7. Digital Recorder. If any of you have anything to do with the paranormal, you’ve seen or heard of this. Take a digital recorder (and yes, I’ve even used a hand-held tape recorder though those are pretty much going out of style) and turn it on. Do this after you’ve made proper preparations…we’ve gone over this before so I won’t repeat it all. It’s very important that you put your mindset in the right place when using a digital recorder or you probably won’t get anything. Make it clear you are hoping to communicate with the spirit world, invite the contact, open your mind to allowing it to happen…your personal energy can block spirit contact if you are not open to it! In other words, if you don’t believe you can talk to spirits, that negative energy will probably block the contact. Using a digital recorder during a seance is a great idea so keep that in mind! The premise of this form of contact is that the digital recorder can capture spirit voices. Our ears aren’t sensitive enough to pick up on certain frequencies. The spirit world operates in a higher frequency than us so we often can’t hear them.

8. Seance. With this you are getting a group of like-minded people together and when several people get together for a common purpose, it raises the energy vibration and allows contact with the spirit world to occur. People often hold hands during a seance and this is just to help focus the energy. You don’t have to hold hands but it seems to help people concentrate better. It is also reassuring to be holding someone’s hand when spirit contact takes place. It’s not a typical occurrence for many of us and it’s a bit scary. So, hold hands if it makes you feel better! The only reason spirit contact is often severed when hands disconnect is because the concentration is usually lost. Someone has pulled their hand away because they are afraid or in denial and this often stops the contact. It’s best to have one person control the group because this helps everyone focus. Focused concentration and a common goal is what makes seances work! Always start a seance with a prayer or whatever you do to feel safe, ask everyone to imagine a white light surrounding the group and explain that this is positive energy and nothing negative can penetrate it. Make it clear that you are out for making contact with loved ones or with spirits who mean no harm or have negative intentions. Be open to the communication! Allow it to happen. Be patient. Thoughts usually start coming to you and often those are thoughts from spirit! Unfortunately, you will probably pass them off as your imagination. Again, I must stress this…the imagination is a DIRECT LINK TO SPIRIT. Our imagination operates in the spirit world and manifests in our own if we give it enough focus. All creativity comes from God, Infinite Intelligence, a higher power, the Universe…whatever you want to call it and the imagination is creativity at work. Just remember that!

So there you have it! Have you tried any of these things? What was your experience? Are you going to try any of these things? Let me know how it goes or how it’s gone!

Before I close out this post, I want to mention that Be Still, My Love and it’s sequel Hidden Voices are based on some of the things I’ve learned during my own paranormal experiences. The lead character in those books…Tess Schafer…is a medium and through her I share a lot of what I’ve come to learn and understand about ghosts, hauntings and the spirit world in general.

Until next time, blessings to all and Peace Out!

Where Spirits Dwell (deborahjhughes.com)
The Paranormal Podcast… To Ouija or not to Ouija? (bigseance.com)
What’s so Fascinating About the Paranormal? (deborahjhughes.com)
Ouija Boards – Childish Game or Portal to the Spirit World? (wheretheghostsgo.wordpress.com)

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Deborah J. Hughes

Writer/blogger of stories with supernatural/paranormal content. There is more to this world than what we think we see and know. I like to discover what those things are. One way I do this is through writing. Truth is hidden in layers, my goal is to peel through them and find the knowledge hidden within. For those who seek, it is they who shall find!
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