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

move quickly.

His daughter told him that there were demons peering in

at the windows. She could barely get the words out.

“Just keep praying!” said Austin. “I’m on my way …”

Thankfully his daughter lived just a couple of suburbs

away, so he was soon banging on her front door. The young-

190Austin

sters screamed, not realising it was their rescuer and not an

evil entity demanding entry.

Austin told me that the sense of negativity and evil was

overwhelming, he was in no doubt that the group had opened

the door to low-vibrational entities and that they had firmly

taken hold. He felt their resistance as he wandered through

the apartment, repeating the same prayer through each room

as he sent them to the light.

It was daylight by the time the energy lifted and thankfully

other than the legacy of deeply ingrained fear, there were no further repercussions. Needless to say Austin’s daughter had

a stern talking to, as a minister’s daughter she should have

known better!

Austin tells me that his church fields countless phone calls

each week from people who believe they have evil entities in

their homes, and many of these arrive via a Ouija board invi-

tation. What to many begins as a bit of light-hearted fun

often ends as their greatest nightmare, and Austin can’t stress enough the dangers of experimenting with the unknown.

In most instances these entities can be moved on with a

house cleansing and dedicated prayer. But there are some enti-

ties who steadfastly refuse to budge, so of course it’s best not to invite them into your home in the first place!

There are safe ways to establish spirit contact, and in inex-

perienced hands, the Ouija board is certainly not one of them.

Protective rituals and prayers need to be in place and only then can we safely breach the divide between the spirit world and

our own.

Austin’s parting invitation to his church’s Open Circle was all the encouragement I needed, as I was well and truly ready

to take the next step. The circle was scheduled for the follow-Austin 191

ing evening, and there was no doubt in my mind that I would

be there. If I had seen two spirits just by chatting in Austin’s office, what would I see during the circle?

The next day couldn’t come quickly enough. I couldn’t

wait to find out.

My cousin, Anita and I arrived at the Spiritualist Church

an hour before the circle was due to begin, as we were keen

to gauge the atmosphere before the meditation. Austin wel-

comed us warmly, and showed us a photograph of the long-

dead Mrs Perkins, a faded framed portrait which sat on top

of the organ. There was also a brass bust of the church’s

esteemed spiritual teacher, and the inanimate Mrs Perkins

seemed to preside over the proceedings from the corner of the

room.

Thirty or so chairs were arranged in a large circle and Aus-

tin invited us to choose a seat. It wasn’t long before we were ushered into a small anteroom for healing, to ensure we were

at our most spiritually receptive before the session began.

As each person walked into the church, the routine was

the same. They would share a brief exchange with Austin, be

invited into the small healing room, and then resume their

position within the circle. By the time eight o’clock arrived

every seat was taken.

The main lights were turned off and the only source of

illumination came from a solitary blue light globe hanging in

the corner of the room (just above Mrs Perkins’ portrait, giv-

ing her an eerie, otherworldly glow.)

The atmosphere was befittingly spooky and for a brief

moment I felt vulnerable and exposed. This was starting to

feel very much like a séance, and the warning spiel prior to the start of the meditation unsettled me all the more.

192Austin

A gentleman named Phill was to lead the meditation, and

his sombre warning verged on the alarming.

“If you are threatened in any shape or form, or if some-

one tries to take over your body, immediately envelop yourself in Christ’s golden light. Cross your arms and ankles. Demand

that they leave. You may notice people’s faces changing in

the darkness, and see the spirits gathering around them. Take

note of what you see and at the conclusion of the meditation

you will be invited to describe the entities you have encoun-

tered …”

Phill then led the congregation in prayer, firstly inviting us to join him in the Lord’s Prayer, after which we said a prayer of protection. The circle was ready to begin.

The meditation was not at all what I had imagined.

Rather than being guided through a group mediation as I had

expected, Phill simply told us we were at Safety Bay Beach and to enjoy the experience. He left us to our own devices and said he’d be back for us later .

Just as we began to fall into the depths of our subcon-

scious, a woman to my left began to cough violently (she later told us that she felt as though an entity had been trying to

strangle her …) She stood from her position in the circle and

began to leave, upon which the stillness was abruptly shat-

tered.

“Sit down!” yelled Phill. “Never get out of your seat! It’s

dangerous to break the circle!”

“For God’s sake!” muttered Austin under his breath,

appalled that someone had broken the cardinal sin of circle-

sitting.

“Just stay in your seat,” repeated Phill slightly more calmly, as the chastened woman sheepishly resumed her chair. I had

Austin 193

no doubt that had the lights been brighter we’d have seen her

cheeks blazing with mortification. Perhaps ungraciously I later wondered whether her evil entity story was concocted to extricate herself from her embarrassing situation.

We were once again encouraged to breathe deeply and

Phill asked us to return to the tranquillity of Safety Bay Beach.

At first I tried to comply with Phill’s instructions, and

imagined myself bobbing in a brilliant, sun-sparkled ocean.

But as my relaxation deepened and I began to feel presences

around me, I couldn’t help opening my eyes to scan the room.

The blue-lit darkness was perfect, just bright enough to

see the circle of people around me. The spirits glowed iridescently around the