Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side by Barbara Parks (best ereader for graphic novels txt) 📗

mattress, until the bed itself began to quiver. The way Steve described it, it sounded very much like my own late night visit from Gary; whereby the bed shaking was preceded by the feeling of energy rhythmically coursing beneath me.

“It seems that’s Gary’s standard party trick, doesn’t it?” I

said. “Oh and he’s also very good at focussing his energy on the table. He and Matt had it tipped over on its side in no time!”

Steve also told me that for the duration of Gary’s visit, his

body had felt entirely immobile. He was neither able to speak

nor move, and just lay on the bed transfixed by the beautiful

114Steve

lights before him. This sense of temporary paralysis is a fairly common aspect of a paranormal visitation, as the spirit makes

use of the observers life-force in order to manifest. As a result of their energy being utilised by the spirit, the observer is able to do little more than take it all in.

Since Steve knew his visitor was Gary, he didn’t consider

his temporary immobility to be disturbing. He appreciated

it to be part and parcel of an extraordinary experience, and

allowed himself to savour the visit from his much-loved son.

Steve also told me about a vivid interaction he and Gary had

just a week after his death. Steve was sitting quietly one evening when he suddenly felt a palpable energy shift in the room.

A moment later he saw his son standing before him, look-

ing as he had when he was thirteen years old. Despite being

twenty when he passed away, Steve believes Gary manifested

as his thirteen-year-old self as he had been very happy at that age. It’s often said that our spirit selves take on the appearance of when we were in our prime, so perhaps to Gary, the onset

of his teen years had indeed been the prime of his life.

Steve described Gary as looking corporeal and real; he

appeared so solid that it felt as though Steve could simply

reach out and touch him. It was heart-rending and wonder-

ful all at once.

Judging by his appearance, it was obvious that young Gary

had yet to cross-over; as his energy was very dense. Steve suspected that he was still earthbound and as painful as it was,

encouraged his son to move on.

“You can’t stay here mate,” said Steve sadly.”It’s time to go

to Heaven …”

As I sat listening to Steve’s story, Gary’s vibrant energy

was buzzing around us. I had no doubt that he was overjoyed

Steve 115

at the latest development; and felt glad that at last contact

between myself and his family had been made.

I was repeatedly distracted by a bright light flashing on

the empty chair across my desk, right beside where Steve was

sitting. When I looked over and allowed my gaze to relax, it

didn’t take long before a masculine figure began to appear.

His form was defined by a pale, glowing luminescence; the

unmistakable manifestation of a crossed over spirit. It appeared that Gary had definitely made the transition into the higher

realms and was now watching over his family. It was heartening to know he was continuing on his spiritual journey.

Steve went on to tell me that he felt sure that Gary had

been instrumental in facilitating our meeting, and that he had somehow managed to intensify Steve’s foot pain in order to

ensure that he would to come to my clinic. Matilda had told

Callum about my experiences with Gary, and had simply iden-

tified me as a “podiatrist called Barbara.”

Callum had then of course told his parents, and the wheels

had been set into motion.

Although Steve had attended my clinic some years earlier,

he had been attended to by one of my staff members, rather

than myself.

“When I rang to make an appointment, they told me that

my podiatrist had left,” Steve told me. “So I asked who else

was available. When your receptionist said Barbara, the penny dropped that it just had to be you!”

A quick scan of my Facebook author page confirmed that

I was indeed the Barbara who had been communicating with

his son. It all seemed somehow orchestrated; so much so that

Steve couldn’t help thinking things were being subtly influ-

enced by the other side. I couldn’t have agreed more!

116Steve

As the appointment came to a close, I was yet to stop smil-

ing. In a matter of minutes, my mundane, stress-filled after-

noon had been transformed into something magical. Steve

and I promised each other we would be in touch again soon,

as I very much wanted to meet Gary’s mother and brother.

And if by chance his family wanted to physically experi-

ence their beloved Gary’s presence, I felt sure that all they had to do was say the word. Gary had not only ascended from the

earth plane to the spiritual realms, he had also transcended

the depression which had plagued him in life. He was now a

vibrant, happy energy; and was eager to spread the word.

Meeting Steve had given me further insight into my new

spirit friend and I was very much looking forward to our next

contact. Gary had a beautiful energy I couldn’t wait to interact with again. And if that meant allowing him to do his famous

party-trick of shaking the bed then so be it; I think I’d be hard-pressed to ever find it scary again!

chapter fifteen

L a u r i e

As much as I shy away from the term séance and its sinister connotations of conjuring up the dead, there is no denying

that my table tipping sessions were indeed a type of séance.

By now I was becoming a competent table tipper and the spirits seemed to be ever more willing to come through. Their physical manifestations were becoming stronger; the proof of their

presence more irrefutable. I had finally established a strong

link of communication with the spirit world and the word was

out; amongst both the living and the dead.

It wasn’t long before I was inundated with requests to

facilitate spirit contact, and I found myself conducting small-scale séances with increasing regularity. Since this was becoming time consuming and mentally draining, I decided to trial a larger scale event, inviting twenty