Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side

by Barbara Parks

  Stan’s intervention, but I definitely felt a new lightness once the cleansing was done.

  Stan then moved behind me and immediately focussed on

  the area just over my left shoulder blade, where I had been

  experiencing a sensation of pressure and tingling for the past month.

  I had thought the sensation was associated with my grand-

  mother, Baka, as I most commonly felt it when I was in my kitchen. I had the impression that she was standing behind me

  supervising my culinary endeavours! Baka had been an accom-

  plished chef, and I always feel particularly close to her when I’m cooking. Since the sensation felt as though someone was

  placing their hand just beneath my shoulder, I interpreted it as a comforting, supportive presence. Stan, however, disagreed.

  “Who is that?” he asked.

  Stan 131

  “Yeah, who is it?” I asked uneasily. I was taken aback that

  Stan had zoned in an area I hadn’t given any indication of

  being of concern to me.

  “No, I’m asking you!” he replied.

  I was intrigued but also a little anxious.

  “Is it my granny?” I asked hopefully. But I already knew

  by Stan’s reaction that it was not a positive energy that he was picking up on.

  “No, no. Definitely not your grandmother! Someone has

  attached themselves to you, see how they’re making a bee-line

  for your heart?”

  This was starting to feel a little creepy, and had I not been

  feeling the pressure sensation on my back I might have been

  dubious. But it did seem more than coincidental that Stan was

  focussing his attentions on that very spot.

  “No dramas,” he said, reaching for his trusty Selenite

  rod. He held it firmly to my back, and in what can best be

  described as a pulling sensation, the energy began leaching out of my back.

  “Now, it might try to attach itself to you again, so if you

  start to feel it make sure you tell it to eff off!”

  I was hopeful that Stan’s cleansing ritual had been effective, and indeed for at least the next couple of weeks I thought it had been. Then one morning, as I threw on my bathrobe and

  rushed about preparing for work, I felt the familiar pressure

  suddenly descend upon me. It lodged itself firmly between

  my shoulder blades. As Stan had instructed me, I lashed at my

  back with a flicking motion, all the while telling the so-called entity to eff-off!

  It was barely a minute later that I began to laugh, as I

  realised how ridiculous I must’ve looked. Especially since I

  132 Stan

  quickly realised the pressure wasn’t due to a ghostly presence after all. What I’d imagined to be an entity trying to attach

  itself to me, was in reality the hood of my bathrobe. In my

  haste to put it on, the hood had become tucked into the back

  of the robe, crumpling itself up into a firm lump of towelling which pressed against my back.

  It just goes to show, jumping to conclusions can make you

  look ridiculously foolish! I was thankful that no one was there to witness my little back-slapping performance and resolved to assess situations more carefully in the future. It’s the cardinal rule of paranormal investigations, rule out all logical explana-tions first. After this episode, I make sure to always do so …

  chapter seventeen

  D e b

  Although I didn’t meet Deb until mid-2011, I’d known of her

  for several years beforehand. Deb was a high-profile televi-

  sion reporter, and has also worked as a producer on numer-

  ous well-known news and current affairs programs. Although

  our paths first crossed in a professional capacity, we soon recognised that we were kindred spirits and became good friends.

  Deb’s mother, Doris, passed away in 2010 and wasted no

  time in making herself known to me. This was a little awk-

  ward, as the first time Deb and I met was in her role as TV

  producer. She was interviewing me as part of an audition for

  an upcoming TV show.

  Doris wasn’t put off by the fact that this was supposed to

  be a professional meeting. She was determined to take advan-

  tage of my clairvoyance and came through regardless. Her

  relentless bright flashing was hard to dismiss, so I eventually succumbed to Doris’s wishes and told Deb about the persistent presence beside her. All I could see was a bright flashing 133

  134 Deb

  light; at this point I had no idea that the spirit reaching out to me was Deb’s mother.

  Over the years I have managed to discern some predictable

  patterns with regard to spirit presences and the ways in which they identify themselves. It appears that they place themselves in particular positions in order to show their relationship to the person they are connected to.

  Spirit guides usually sit just above the left shoulder, quite

  often appearing within the person’s aura. They appear as vivid pin-pricks of intense light, which sometimes go on to manifest as white, glowing figures.

  Male presences generally sit on the dominant side; so for

  a right-handed person, they will place themselves on the per-

  son’s right. The opposite is true for female energies, who generally place themselves on the less dominant side. They are

  distinguishable from spirit guides by sitting a little further away than the aura-inhabiting guides.

  When I see spirit lights directly above someone’s head, I

  know these energies to be those of departed children.

  So with this knowledge, I could surmise that Deb’s spirit

  was a female relative. When she told me that the presence was

  most likely to be her mother, Doris, confirmation came as an

  even more vivid flash.

  Talking about Doris seemed to give her additional energy,

  as her presence became progressively more palpable as the

  afternoon progressed. Deb and I spoke about the ways in

  which spirits let us know that they’re around, the most com-

  mon of which are subtle energy manipulations. Since spirits

  are a pure form of energy themselves, it’s relatively simple for them to affect other types of energy to make their presence

  felt.

  Deb 135

  Radio waves and electrical signals are particularly easy for

  spirits to manipulate, and it’s therefore common for lights to flicker or significant songs to play on the radio when spirits are around.

  Deb was intrigued by the concept of spirits affecting the

  physical environment and we discussed the subject length.

  Our conversation gained added gravity shortly after she left.

  As Deb drove away from my house, she couldn’t help smiling.

  The song which was blasting out of her car radio was Spirit in the Sky …

  It was some months later that I drove out to Deb’s country

  property for a morning coffee date. Although we had main-

  tained regular contact since meeting, I was looking forward to actually catching up face-to-face.

  It seems Doris had been looking forward to it too, and was

  excitedly shining her spirit light from the moment I arrived.

  “Deb … I think your mum’s visiting you again. The flashing

  light on your left is going ballistic!”

  I suggested we give Doris the chance to prove her presence

  further by taking a few photos. I had brought my camera along

  for this very purpose, knowing that Doris wouldn’t waste an

  opportunity to show herself to her daugh
ter. Deb suggested

  we take a photo near her mother’s prized possession; her much

  loved piano. Doris had been a highly accomplished pianist and

  derived great joy from sharing her gift of music.

  “OK Mum,” said Deb as she stood before the piano. “I

  would really love it if you’d appear in this photo with me …”

  With one click she was there; a bright and beautiful orb posi-

  tioned just above Deb’s left shoulder. We also noticed several less distinct orbs to Deb’s right, the largest of which seemed to dominate the shot.

  136 Deb

  Deb’s spirits were keen to let her know that they were there.

  “That’d be Dad,” smiled Deb. And indeed, in the count-

  less photos we took that morning, the two main orbs beside

  Deb continually showed themselves. They shone consistently

  either side of their daughter, irrespective of where we positioned ourselves in the house.

  It seems that since Deb’s father, Ray passed away more

  than forty years ago, his presence wasn’t quite as insistent as that of her mother. Doris’s relatively recent passing gave her a stronger connection to the earth plane. I suspect her presence was also more powerful as a result of her trying to comfort

  and support her still-grieving daughter.

  By the time I left Deb’s an hour or so later, we were both

  buzzing with happiness at having connected with her parents.

  At that point we didn’t realise we had also been hanging out

  with Deb’s Uncle Tom.

  Deb 137

  It was later that afternoon that Deb emailed me, want-

  ing to ask my opinion on one of the photographs we took. In

  addition to the obvious orbs, there was something even more

  striking about one of the photos. It was something that we

  had both initially missed.

  “Tell me if I’m reading into this, but is that a face in the red cushion?”

  I quickly opened up the attachment and was incredu-

  lous that I hadn’t noticed it before. A three dimensional face seemed to have manifested within the fabric of the cushion.

  A man’s face seems to be looking directly at Deb as she plays

  with her dog Daisy.

  I emailed Deb back within seconds.

  “Deb!” I wrote. “Does this gent resemble your uncle?”

  Deb had told me that her Uncle Tom had passed away from

  emphysema several months earlier. I had a strong feeling that

  old Tom was seizing the opportunity to let his family know

  that he was OK.

  “He does!” she wrote back. She joked that she recognised

  his big schnauzer of a nose and that it could very well be her Uncle Tom.

  We decided then and there that we needed to give Deb’s

  spirit family a better opportunity to come through. It was time to arrange a family séance.

  There were to be five of us in attendance; Deb and myself,

  in addition to Tom’s wife Bett and his daughters, Jill and Sue. As was the case when I first met Deb, I felt an instant connection to her Auntie and her cousins. We embraced at the front door as if we were old friends.

  138 Deb

  The face in the red cushion looks very much like Deb’s Uncle Tom.

  After explaining what we would be doing that evening, we

  sat at the table and invited the spirits to join us. We had no doubt that they would be happy to interact, and indeed Tom

  had been building up to his big performance all day.

  Jill told us that for several hours in the lead up to the

  séance, Tom had been announcing his presence with a strong

  whiff of tobacco smoke!

  Tom, Doris and Deb’s father, Ray took turns at impressing

  us with their ability to move the table. Each had their own distinctive style, which made it easy to distinguish who was com-

  municating with us at any given time. Whilst the men moved

  the table quite forcefully, Doris’s interactions with the table somehow seemed more delicate. Her table tipping efforts

  were almost graceful, moving the table so rhythmically that

  her musical bent easily shone through. She would rotate the

  table in one direction, then lift it onto one leg. Then in one Deb 139

  fluid motion, it would spin in reverse and tip itself onto the opposite leg. The table appeared to be performing an elegant

  dance.

  Doris maintained the rhythmic movement of the table for

  several minutes, after which Ray and Tom decided to join her

  for the grand finale. The three spirits pooled their energies

  towards what would be a extraordinary display.

  “Are you ready guys?” I asked. “Go on then, impress us!”

  The movement began with little more than a subtle vibra-

  tion, after which the round table began to spin. In order to

  keep our fingertips in contact with the tabletop, the five of us pushed our chairs back and stood up. This was obviously the

  cue to rev things up a little, as the table built up momentum as it spun around with increasing speed.

  We couldn’t stop laughing as we shuffled around the table,

  knowing full well that our spirit friends were having a chuckle at our expense. We knew how ridiculously foolish we must’ve

  looked!

  By the time we closed down the table and called it a night,

  we were all feeling energised and at peace. We were convinced

  that we’d just spent the evening with three beautiful spirits, and we knew that they had relished the experience as much as we

  had.

  A month or so later, Deb messaged me with some exciting

  follow-up. It seemed that Tom was still partaking in the occa-

  sional family visit, and had been a particularly frequent visitor to his daughter, Jill’s house.

  Jill had long been smelling Tom’s signature scent of

  tobacco smoke, but now he had taken to announcing himself

  all the more. His physical manifestations had escalated to a

  level that was difficult to comprehend.

  140 Deb

  Jill determined that the smoke seemed to be emanating

  from the downstairs toilet, the perfect place to indulge in a for-bidden cigarette. Despite his emphysema, Tom used to sneak

  an occasional clandestine ciggie; and it seemed he was con-

  tinuing to do so after his death. Most astounding of all was the fact that in addition to the tobacco smell, small mounds of cigarette ash had begun manifesting on the toilet floor.

  Each time Jill swept the ash away, it would reappear within

  hours. In the end, Jill decided not to bother sweeping it up

  at all, as Tom was sure to replace it with a fresh pile anyway!

  Struggling to comprehend such a physical manifestation of a

  spirit presence, Jill took a photograph of the ash. What better way to validate the presence of her recently departed father?

  And if the phenomenon ceased, Jill would always have a

  reminder of the lengths her dad went to in order to assure her that his spirit lived on. Tom wanted his family to know that he was still very much a part of their lives.

  In addition to the mysteriously appearing piles of ash, Jill

  noticed another unusual manifestation. She reports that from

  time to time one of the nearby terracotta floor tiles gets inexplicably hot, despite those surrounding it remaining cool. Deb keeps me up to date with Tom’s reasonably frequent exploits,

  messaging me whenever some new and exciting manifestation

  comes through.

  “So we have Pillow Tom, Toilet Tom and Tile Tom!” she joked.

  His impressive array
of physical manifestations made me won-

  der what party trick Tom would come up with next. I was con-

  vinced that whatever it was, I’d be impressed.

  Post-death visitations such as Tom’s demonstrate the lim-

  itless possibilities of the spirit world. Manipulating the physical realm is hard for our mortal minds to process. But as Tom

  Deb 141

  seemed to effortlessly prove, it is not only possible, but seemingly effortless under the right set of circumstances. The

  energy required for a spirit to affect the physical world can be gleaned from a variety of sources; whether they be electrical, psychic or emotional. Believing that these events can and do

  happen, provides additional psychic fuel to allow spirit pres-

  ences to come through.

  Strong manifestations such as these also serve to remind

  us that there is no barrier to love; least of all death. And sometimes, if we’re lucky, spirits like Tom will do whatever it takes to prove it.

  chapter eighteen

  S é a n c e a t

  t h e C l i n i c

  The relentless flashing lights at my podiatry clinic seemed to intensify over time; so much so that not a day went by that I

  didn’t see them. The spirit presences became increasingly pal-

  pable; occasionally showing themselves as fleeting filmy fig-

  ures or by clattering the instruments which lay beside me in

  their kidney dish. In these instances my patients were quick

  to joke that my clinic was haunted; little realising how much

  truth lay in their off-the-cuff remarks!

  My reception staff reported feeling uneasy when left alone

  at the clinic at the end of the day. On one occasion my office manager, Sonia was convinced that one of the podiatrists was

  still busily working away in their consulting room, such was

  the noise filtering down the corridor. When she ventured into

  the treatment room to investigate, she was stunned to find it

  was empty.

  143

  144 Seance at the Clinic

  I began to realise that as well as the spirits who came in

  accompanying my patients, there were those who appeared to

  be permanent fixtures. One little soul doggedly stood beside

  my treatment trolley; repeatedly flashing an intense blue light at me from the centre of her chest. At first I thought the figure was that of a small boy, but I was to later discover my persistent friend was a little girl who had taken a shine to me. Rare was the day that she didn’t make her presence known.