The Other Side

I have been asked many times in my career, by clients, if their departed loved ones can see them, hear them, and visit them. More importantly, how will they know when they are visited? And the other one that I get asked a lot: "Are they all right? Are they happy where they are?"

My answer to the first questions: Absolutely, the energy of your loved ones can see and hear you. In many cases, they stay around in this form to help and comfort you. I always encourage my clients to talk to their departed loved ones to talk to them as if they're still on Earth. Because in many cases, they will smell that person's perfume, or maybe even hear their laugh, or a piece of music just suddenly issues from the stereo, which just happens to be their loved one's favorite song.

A couple of personal examples: I was sitting in bed one night with my laptop checking my emails. All of a sudden, I heard the name, "Grace," and felt a slight movement over me and smelled the scent of gardenias. At the time, I had a 96-year-old client named Grace, who came to mind immediately. I told the presence that I felt next to me, "I love you, too, Grace." The presence then left. The next night, the same thing happened. I just knew inside that she had left her life on this Earth. Sure enough, within a week, her daughter contacted me to let me know that her mother had passed away, and one of her last wishes was to make sure that I knew. In fact, she had died on the very first night that I experienced her presence in my bedroom.

The second experience I want to relate was about my own mother, who died 25 years ago of a brain tumor. I was living in Chico at the time, when I got the frantic call from my siblings that she had taken a turn for the worse, and was in a hospital in San Rafael. They told me to come right away. I drove like crazy to get there, and still it took me 4.5 hours, hyperventilating all the way. My siblings had been with her all day, so when I arrived, they took a break in the cafeteria to give me some time with her alone. I joked with Mom, saying, "Mom, what are you doing in here? I'm supposed to do your hair this weekend." She couldn't talk to me, but gave me a big smile at my joke. About two to three breaths later, she was gone. My siblings came in 5 minutes later, racked with guilt that they had left and were not there for her final moments. I kept telling them, "Don't you feel her presence? She's still here, wanting to bring comfort to us. She still lives, just not in her body."

Over the next couple days, I would think to myself, "Mom, I hope I said everything to you. I hope I was a good daughter." Then one night, I dreamt I was sleeping in my mother's bed. And this dream was vivid, so real. I heard a knock at her bedroom door, so I got up to answer it. When I opened the door, my mother was standing there, healthy, vibrant, and in her forties. She said, "I forgive you," and leaned forward to kiss me on the lips. I awoke with the sensation of the kiss, a very distinct pressure, on my lips. I knew in my heart that she came back to tell me that she forgave me, and that that was what I needed to hear. Of course, there was no forgiveness necessary, but she came to help me release my guilt.

Now onto the second question that clients always ask about their departed loved ones: "Are they all right? Are they happy?" In every case, when I've asked that question of those who have passed, I've always gotten these answers: "Yes, there is only love here. I am happy. I am not in pain or discomfort. I am one with everything. I can see and hear and be everywhere." Most of them will also say that they are around their living loved ones all the time. If we want to reach out to them, we have only to ask, and to be open enough to receive the messages.

I hope this brings peace to those who have lost someone dear to them. Know that they are still living, not only in your heart, but in the cosmic vibration of Life.