ONE NIGHT WHILE WATCHING White Noise, a movie about a man who receives spirit communication through his TV, Ginny heard a loud crash in her hallway. When she ran to investigate, she discovered that a painting of herself that had hung for years undisturbed above the staircase had inexplicably fallen and come out of its frame. Shaken by the experience, Ginny called me - a professional psychic medium - to see if I could provide insight about who in the spirit world was trying to contact her and what message they were trying to communicate. The next day, when Ginny came for a session with me, her mother - who had been a strong, "no-nonsense" sort of woman - delivered the message that she had moved the painting to make Ginny aware that she was helping her to leave her marriage to an abusive alcoholic whom Ginny had stubbornly refused to leave out of guilt. Because she had often felt her mother's spiritual presence around her, Ginny was not surprised by this revelation. But she was stunned that a spirit could actually move objects. I told her it was definitely not a coincidence that Ginny had received this message when she was watching a movie about after-death communication; it was the best time for her mother to get her attention.

Perhaps you have had an uncanny, unexplained occurrence such as Ginny's. After years of communicating with the spirit world through thousands of readings, I've learned that after-death communications or "calling cards," as I refer to them, are not only realities, they are intriguing phenomena that often give people in grief peace and healing. Through my case-files with clients who have received these occurrences, I've categorized them into five main types:

Electrical Devices and Phones
Lights in the "receiver's" home flash for no apparent reason; the telephone rings, no one is on the other end and the Caller-ID registers a blank; a computer printer spontaneously prints words or images; the TV or radio mysteriously changes channels on its own. These manipulations defy physical evidence of malfunctions in the transmitting devices and occur spontaneously. A year or so ago, two female clients, whom I had met when they came to hear from their husbands in spirit, called me on the same day to ask me if it were possible to call one's own number. Both reported that they had received calls in which no one was on the other end, but the caller id feature on the phone registered their own phone numbers. Stunned by the synchronicity of the calls, I replied that I didn't think it was possible. Neither could find a rational explanation for the incident. I told each of them I believed it was a phone call from her husband in heaven.

Scents
Many people have shared stories with me about mysteriously and suddenly smelling a particular scent that they associate with a deceased relative or friend. After-shave, perfume, cigarette and cigar smoke are frequently reported. Interestingly, our sense of smell is closely tied to our memories of people, places and events. I believe particular scents can activate these codes in our brains and this association is why spirits choose to communicate with us by using scent. In one such case, Mindy described smelling her mother's favorite perfume on several occasions, most notably when she felt depressed and grief-stricken in the year following her mother's untimely passing from cancer at the age of 49. She had shared these incidents with no one, but confided to me during a session that they had brought her much needed comfort by alleviating the overwhelming loneliness she had felt.

Dreams
In my message seminars, I frequently ask audience members how many have been visited by their deceased loved ones in dreams. Typically over half of the group raises their hands. During sleep, we are especially receptive to messages from the spirit world and our own intuition because our rational, left-brain is temporarily resting. It's the easiest and most efficient way for loved ones to connect with us due to our lack of resistance to and judgment of the experience. In dreams where we encounter departed loved ones, it is possible and quite likely that nothing is directly communicated except the deceased person's presence. The profound and powerful message in this is that our loved one has survived death and continues on in spirit.

Nature
Karen's deceased father came through in her session with me and said that he would send bright, red cardinals to her yard since he had always loved birds. Some time later, Karen emailed me to report that several of the birds regularly visited her backyard deck. Last summer, I visited my mother's grave for the first time in two years. I noticed that in the middle of the dirt- directly beneath the headstone- a single, yellow buttercup was growing. As I stood in the silence of the graveyard, I recalled the memory of picking buttercups as a child and proudly presenting them to my mom. My eyes were flooded with tears. The tiny, bright flower that day served as a symbol of the indestructible bond of love she and I shared.

Moving Objects
In inexplicable ways, spirits are able to move objects such as Ginny's picture in the earlier example. Another client, Sara, inherited her grandmother's favorite gold necklace, which had a chain that was considerably tangled and knotted when she received it. She and her mother tried without success to unknot it. Several days later, when Sara picked it up to give it another try, it was mysteriously untangled. She has no explanation how this had happened other than her grandmother in spirit wanted her to enjoy what had been her favorite piece of jewelry.

Other categories of after-death communication include synchronicities of our memories or thoughts about deceased loved ones with closely-timed external validations such as hearing their name spoken in conversation or seeing their initials on a license plate on the car in front of us in traffic. Or we may receive inspiration that feels like our own thoughts, yet is uncannily reminiscent of a loved one's personality or unique outlook on life. Another pathway of spirit communication is through feeling or emotion, which is referred to as clairsentience. In other words, we feel a sense of love, gratitude or forgiveness for no explainable reason.

Amy, a client who had struggled painfully with the decision to take her late father off of life support, told me that she finally experienced a deep sense of peace months after he died. "One night, as I lay awake still tormented by thoughts of Dad's death," she related, "I was overtaken by an incredible feeling of unconditional love. In my mind, I saw him standing by my bedside, looking young and healthy, like he was for most of his life prior to his illness. I felt him saying, 'Please don't torture yourself anymore with the decision to end my life when I didn't want to merely exist on life-support anyway. I am still alive in spirit and love you very much.'" This simple communication had an intensely positive effect on Amy's healing. She felt greatly relieved of the oppressive burden of guilt that had weighed her down since her dad's passing.

Spiritually speaking, what purpose do these calling cards serve? How do they contribute to the awareness of our own spiritual identity? After hearing many of these stories, I believe loved ones in spirit want us to know they survived death and that they are still with us. Because they are not explainable by physical laws, these experiences remind us that we are indeed more than our physical bodies - that our essential consciousness is of spirit. This brings us peace of mind and facilitates healing from grief. My work as a medium has revealed that the most fundamental tool in healing grief is awareness of the continuity of life after death. Not coincidentally, many people report receiving after-death communication on the anniversary of a deceased loved one's passing, wedding or birthday. Much like having a reading, these incidents powerfully reinforce the awareness of life after death by creating an undeniable link (because they are visual or auditory) between the spiritual and physical worlds. We are inextricably connected with family members, friends and pets in spirit through the enduring bond of love. Because we can no longer see or hear them through our physical senses, these supernatural occurrences are their way of letting us know they're around. These calling cards give us hope, comfort and reassurance that their and ultimately, our, consciousness survives death.

If you believe you've experienced after-death communication, offer thanks for this spiritual gift. You obviously needed the reassurance that a loved one is near. Talk to them as if they were physically present. Send your love for their continued happiness in spirit, Above all, don't be afraid. Love is stronger than death.

© 2008, Carolyn Gervais

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carole J. Obley, www.soulvisions.net, is an acclaimed spiritual medium who has delivered thousands of messages from the spirit world to people seeking confirmation of life after death and healing from grief. She has been featured in newspaper articles and regularly speaks on radio and TV. In addition to maintaining a private practice near Pittsburgh, Pa., she travels nationally to present seminars and workshops on mediumship and spiritual development. Her new book, I'm Still with You: True Stories of Healing Grief Through Spirit Communication (O-Books, June 2008) contains astonishing, true stories of contact with the spirit world that provide compelling evidence of life beyond death and the healing that such awareness brings.