Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side by Barbara Parks (bill gates best books TXT) 📕

Houses built on ley lines are also likely to be subjected to

hauntings. Ley lines are invisible lines of energy which are

believed to connect geographical points of interest. Signifi-

cant structures such as Stonehenge and The Great Pyramid,

for example, are thought to have been built upon the points

of intersection of this invisible energy grid. It is this energetic power-source which has the potential to fuel a prospective

haunting.

Lastly, a haunting may be little more than an energetic

replay of past events. It’s thought that if an event occurs often enough (e.g. someone walking up and down a staircase repeatedly over the course of several years) or is emotionally-charged enough (such as a suicide or a murder) the event imprints itself on a given location. One theory suggests that past events can

be recorded within the structure itself, particularly within the matrix of certain types of rock. Perhaps that’s why centuries old castles are quite often reported to be haunted, as their rich and varied histories are imprinted within the fibre of the castle itself.

It’s important to appreciate that this is not an intelligent

haunting, whereby there is an actual entity present. It is merely a snapshot of past events, similar to a replay being projected onto a theatre screen.

Hauntings are indeed as unpredictable and diverse as the

ghosts themselves. Although many are little more than ener-

getic events, some hauntings are as interactive as that expe-

rienced between two living beings. Many hauntings are

harmonious (as in the case of Sylvia and Lawrence’s home)

182The Interactions of Others

whereby the living and the dead dwell peacefully side-by-side.

Others can be so be so disturbing that they shatter any possi-

bility of living a normal life.

Whilst ghosts may often frighten us, the gift they bring is

precious. Ghosts remind us of the eternal nature of the human

soul, and embracing this reality is nothing short of magical!

chapter twenty-one

A u s t i n

I’d long been planning to join a development circle, so I

decided to finally commit to putting my plan into action. Since the Spiritualist Church had been so instrumental in reawaken-ing my clairvoyance, I decided that it would be a good place

to start. By now it had been almost ten years since I first saw spirit guides, and since they seemed to effortlessly manifest in the church environment, I knew that it was time to go back.

For some reason I was drawn to the Maylands Spiritualist

Church, which although not the closest to home, it was the

one to which I felt the most affinity. Perhaps it was because I had lived in Maylands all those years ago, and had treasured

memories of the neighbourhood I had once shared with Deni.

Or perhaps it was something else. Either way it was time to

find out.

On a whim I called the church early on a Tuesday morn-

ing, little expecting anyone to be there. I was hoping to per-

haps hear a recorded message listing the service times.

183

184Austin

I was a little taken aback when a mature gentleman

answered the phone and introduced himself as the minister.

I asked if we could arrange a meeting, as I was curious to discover more about him, and wondered whether his paranormal

experiences even vaguely mirrored my own.

Despite attending the Forrestfield Spiritualist Church sev-

eral years earlier, I still had very little understanding of the running of the church itself. I wanted to know if all the ministers were mediums. Did they believe in both good and evil

manifestations of spirit? I wondered if he would concur that poltergeists were real?

Less than ten minutes later I was heading down the hill

towards Maylands, with the unmistakeable feeling that some-

thing eventful was about to happen.

I was met by a diminutive, grey- haired gentleman who

smiled warmly as he extended his hand.

“I’m Austin,” he said. “Nice to meet you!”

We moved off to sit in his office; a small nondescript room

at the back of the church hall. As soon as we were seated I

could see the room buzzing with energy, the familiar fog inter-spersed with transient bursts of bright flashing lights.

There was one spot just above Austin’s left shoulder which

was particularly active, flashing repetitively to ensure it had my attention. When I glanced up I noticed the head and shoulders of a glowing masculine figure.

“Your guide!” I said.

“That’s right” smiled Austin. “I’ve been seeing him for

years.”

Austin told me about the first time he’d seen his guide

manifest, many years ago when he was a young bachelor liv-

ing in a tiny two bedroom house.

Austin 185

At the time Austin had kept greyhounds, and he was woken

by the dogs’ relentless barking. As he made his way down the

hallway, he passed the lounge room and reeled back in shock.

Calmly sitting in an arm chair was a man, and Austin gasped

at the realisation there was an intruder in the house. The man looked completely solid and addressed Austin by name.

“Come and sit down, “he said.

Strangely, the dogs had become completely silent by now.

Austin felt as though they had successfully fulfilled their mission by summoning their master and had gone back to sleep

after a job well done.

Austin edged nervously into the lounge room and sat across

from his visitor. There he remained for over an hour, engaged in conversation with his spirit guide.

“And I’ve seen him beside me ever since,” finished Austin.

I glanced up towards where Austin’s guide was hovering,

and he shone his spirit light at me as if to concur.

Throughout the course of our hour-long conversation, I

also repeatedly saw a small figure peeking over Austin’s left

shoulder, and I asked myself why I hadn’t come to visit here

earlier. There was no doubt that the Spiritualist Church was a magnet for spirits and I couldn’t wait to experience more.

Austin spoke of how he regularly saw the spirits of his

deceased parishioners, as they invariably hot-footed it straight back to his parish knowing that they would be seen. Some of

the spirits manifested as filmy, ethereal figures, whereas others were so corporeal that Austin was able to physically touch them. Sometimes they were fleeting presences, sometimes

they lingered for