UNDERSTANDING SPIRIT COMMUNICATIONS

The material presented in this book is based on two underlying assumptions. The first is that our souls are immortal and continue to exist after we leave the physical world. Our existence continues in the astral world; that is, in the spirit realm where non-physical conscious entities dwell.

The second basic assumption is that there are open lines of communication available between the conscious entities of those in the physical world and the conscious entities of those in the astral world.

The information in this chapter is presented as a recounting of my personal thoughts, beliefs, observations and experiences regarding communication from those in the spirit world.

I want to make it clear at the outset that I understand that others may have had different experiences from mine or have beliefs or truths that are in opposition to mine. Please be assured that I am not trying to convince anybody of anything. All I want to do is to share my personal experiences with you. You can believe or not believe what I say.

You may or may not choose to incorporate anything I present into your own personal belief system. Nevertheless I avow that everything I am saying here is my own personal truth. I do not proclaim myself to be an expert in anything. All I can do is to talk about what I do.

When we die our personal individualities continue to exist in the spirit world. Only the physical part of us dies. The rest continues to exist. Spirits are conscious energy beings that are not encased in physical bodies. Some of the spirits who inhabit the astral world were previously part of our physical world. Others never incarnated in the physical world.

Very few of the spirits who dwell in the astral realm have reached the state of perfection, or completion as my guide corrects me, and are able to move on to another dimension beyond the astral realm.

We must understand that these non-physical entities in the astral realm are not God (or whatever term you may want to use for the highest of all powers) and therefore they are not infallible. Just as in our physical world with some humans more knowledgeable, adept or skilled than others in what they do, so it is with the spirits.

If, for example, you are experiencing severe abdominal pains and you have tried everything you know to relieve the pain, the next logical step is to go to a more knowledgeable person; that is, a medical doctor. Some doctors are more knowledgeable than others but, for the most part, doctors can usually find the source of the pain, sometimes after conferring with other doctors or even researching available information. But doctors are not God. Sometimes the diagnosis is wrong. It is the same in the world of spirits.

Some spirits that channel information to mediums are from a lower energy level in the astral world, others from a higher energy astral level or any level between. The higher the level of the source of information, the greater the probability of the accuracy of the information that is transmitted.

If, for example, your Aunt Millie was someone whose advice you would not take seriously while she was in the physical, treat her advice the same way after she has crossed over to the astral world. In this world, if you had a question about the laws of physics, you could ask your cousin who took a physics course in high school. He just might be able to answer your question correctly. The likelihood of getting the correct answer might increase if, instead of asking your cousin, you asked your neighbor who majored in physics in college. The likelihood of the correct answer might even be greater yet if you asked a university professor of physics. Just as there are different levels of intelligence or abilities in our world, so it is in the spirit world. You might get some kind of answer to your question from Aunt Millie or you might even get an answer from the level of Albert Einstein.

Just because information is channeled from the astral world, this does not mean that you can take it as gospel truth. In fact the Bible says "Try the spirits.", meaning "Test the spirits." (I John 4:1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.") Spirits can be good or evil. They can be right or they can be wrong. Some try to deceive. Some try to help. The important thing is to be very cautious when dealing with the spirits and the information they provide.

Some spirits like to send messages to their loved ones and friends; information mostly about their experiences, relationships and feelings while on this plateau. Other spirits provide guidance in their communications. Their intent is to be helpful and guide the individual. We all have at least one guide who stays with us throughout our lives. Even though we may not "hear" them, they do have an effect on our intuition so that we will be more likely to make the right choices in the exercise of our free will.

The exercise of our free will takes precedence over spirit influence. Ideas that come from spirits often appear as thoughts that come from "out of the blue", or "inspired" thoughts or even what you might call "epiphanies". Sometimes a guide will appear for a specific occasion, such as to give help to a doctor during an operation, or even to give advice to a gambler.

In my book Scattered Glimpses: A Mosaic I wrote about an interesting case that occurred when one of my physician friends, Dr. Richard Neubauer, spoke to me about the quadruple bypass heart surgery that he needed. He was in considerable pain and was fearful that he might not pull through. He knew me well enough that he had faith in my predictions. My telling him that everything would be okay calmed his nerves. He had the operation and it was very successful. My guide had told me this.

Two or three days after the operation, a doctor whom I did not know came to me in spirit, telling me about what had taken place on the operating table. He told me that when he was alive...