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

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

134Deb

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 daughter. 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.

136Deb

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,