Can the departed actually show you a physical sign that they are there with you? I went to visit my dad at the cemetery the other day and wanted to place a stone on his grave as is tradition in Judaism. I walked around for a few minutes, looking in the grass for one. When I came upon a stone, I picked it up and discovered that it was a clump of dirt, pebbles and debris, all shaped in an absolutely perfect heart. I placed it on his grave. Do you think this could have been a sign from my dad?
Sherry
Susyn:
The departed can absolutely guide you to signs that they are with you. It's a wonderful gift that we can connect with our loved ones in these unique and tangible ways.
I have heard many stories of people who were hoping for an indication that a loved one was near and had that wish fulfilled in a wonderful way. I have experienced it myself. Soon after my mother passed away, I ran across a CD about angels she had given me years before, stuck in the back of a drawer as I was searching for something else. My brother had this experience with a unique sunrise while praying for a sign that our mom was doing okay.
Another friend of mine was standing on a beach, watching the ocean and contemplating the recent loss of his partner. All of a sudden, a glint of light caught his eye and he too was directed to a stone that was in the shape of a perfect heart.
Our longing to connect with our departed loved ones combined with their ability to send us a sign tends to produce some very powerful spiritual experiences. Whether they send us a sign through dreams, smells or images, they are usually so profound as to be undeniable.
Many of my clients lament the fact that they do not dream about their loved ones or hear from them directly. The key to experiencing these types of messages is an open heart and mind. While spirits try to send us clear signs, they can be overlooked if we expect them to come in a certain form.
One of the most effective ways to connect with a departed spirit is through a psychic channeling session in which the psychic acts as a third party and can relay messages between you and your loved ones. With this method, you will be able to ask direct questions and receive specific answers.
Many times when channeling spirits during a reading, the spirits will specify how they will appear to their living loved ones. Sometimes it is in the form of a certain animal, such as a bird, horse or lion that shows up in unexpected ways or places. At other times, loved ones in spirit may indicate their presence through scents that are familiar to us, or unusual songs, images or memories that may come up out of the blue.
You can also perform guided meditations in which you request that your dad come visit you, or return to his gravesite and try to communicate with him there. Though you may not always feel like you have connected with him, the more you practice, the better your chance of experiencing many amazing signs that your father is near you.
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Oceania:
I believe that departed loved ones can communicate with us if we are open to receiving their messages. Your father may have been aware of the heart-shaped stone in the vicinity and nudged you towards it. The stone served as a meeting place for your two souls, a physical focal point for the love you share. Even the shape of a heart suggests two blending into one.
Another explanation for the stone's appearance is the mind's amazing ability to filter out irrelevant data. As we are constantly bombarded by more information than we can pay attention to, only that which matches up with what's important to us tends to make it through to our conscious awareness.
During your visit to the cemetery, your love for your father was your focus. As you scanned the environment, looking for a stone, much information was discarded, but the heart-shaped stone caught your attention. Had you not been feeling immense love, you may have overlooked it.
I live in a large condo complex with a circular drive lined with many dumpster corrals. Because I walk dogs several times a day, I regularly enter those corrals to toss my baggies after the dogs do their business. It is customary for our residents to leave usable items sitting next to the dumpsters as opposed to tossing them inside the dumpster. Whenever IÃm in need of a particular item, it invariably appears.
I was in need of large vase and found one. I needed a pot to make a big batch of soup in and - hello! I wanted a few more nice wine glasses for entertaining - check! Were these gifts from the Dumpster Gods? Maybe. Did I manifest them through the Law of Attraction by focusing my mind on them? Could be. Were they examples of synchronicity, the universal order underlying all the seeming chaos? Perhaps!
However, I tend to believe that because I needed an item, it was on my mind and so my mental filter brought it to my attention instead of overlooking it. There are always items alongside the dumpsters, but my mind tends to be too full of other thoughts to even notice them unless they hold meaning for me.
With the greatest of ease, you overlooked what was insignificant at the cemetery and stumbled upon the perfect symbol for your visit. However it got there and however you found it, that heart set in stone served as a solid token to represent the eternal love you share with your father. As that loves lives on in YOUR heart, the thing to do now is ponder how you can carry it forward in your life and share it with the world.
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.