Contacting the Spirits

All Souls Day, Nov. 2

Today we honor those who have shown up at crucial times in our lives and helped us survive. The roots of the observance are thousands of years old in a time when people tried to ward off Death and the wandering, malevolent spirits that took family and friends away, often without warning. While modern medicine has subdued some of these spirits, we still fear the long-leggedy beasties and queasy, uneasy, things that go bump in the night. Too many people we love die unexpectedly, and too many die young for us to rest easy.

Talking with Our Dead

Sometimes I hear the voice of a family member who has died, or I feel their presence. Is it real?

Out of the blue, I will think to send something to a friend in another state. When it arrives three days later, it’s exactly what she needed that day. How did I know? Is something going on beyond coincidence? We are more connected to each other than we think, both to the living and the dead.

Across the Boundary

Journal entry 20

           

We were talking about grief in general when Gene asked me what I thought about the afterlife.

“What do you mean?” I say, shifting in my chair at the change of topics, knowing that something is coming. “My vision of heaven?”

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Coming in on the Breeze: Spirits

Journal entry 16

There have been moments recently when I felt that Evelyn was close. I’m not sure what to make of them. 

Part of me would like an apparition to appear, for Ev to show up and say what she wanted to say before she had to go, not having the chance because of how quickly she died. I’d prefer that she show up during the day because being awakened at night seems so jarring, with her standing at the foot of the bed all ghostly and white and probably with a strange expression.

* If you would like to read the rest of this post, let me know and I’ll send it to you. *