took me a few seconds to realize what was happening, but I yelled for my husband to run into the house to get the camera. Just as I said this, the cloud began to disperse. It was as though it was meant for our eyes only. Within seconds it was nowhere to be found. It simply disappeared the same way it had appeared.
It wasn't until much later that night when I remembered Artie's words. “I don't know what it's going to be, but I am being told that it will be well defined. As soon as you see it, you'll know what it is.”
Is there life after death? If so, is it possible for those who have crossed over to communicate with us? In the pages that follow, I will attempt to answer these and many other questions. My intent is not to change minds but rather to open them. I have chosen to include third parties or intermediaries in this book. My reasoning is simple. I don't believe it matters how the communication from the Other Side occurs. Regardless of whether such communication is spontaneous or initiated by a medium, it does not change the fact that it occurred.
For the purposes of this book, therefore, the term after-death communication or ADC will not be used. Instead, I will use the term “visit from heaven” or “visit,” for short, to refer to a metaphysical experience that takes place when a person is contacted either directly or indirectly through the use of a third party by someone who is deceased. Also, this book includes only evidential accounts, which means that every story is backed up by some sort of proof.
Do you believe in an afterlife? The answer must come from within. My hope is that this book will, in some way, help you discover what your soul has always known.
As I mentioned earlier, this book marked the beginning of many validations for me. Perhaps the most startling experience occurred when I received a visit in my own home from an unwelcomed ghost named Andrea.
When my six-year-old daughter Lia kept complaining about seeing a ghost in her room, I didn't think much of it. I suspected that it was just her imagination. But, after her complaints to both her father and me persisted for more than a month, I began to wonder if there was something more going on.
One day while I was on the phone with my friend, a medium named Anthony Quinata, he nonchalantly asked me why I had not told him that I had a ghost in my house. I was stunned beyond words as he continued to tell me that he sensed Lia had been complaining about seeing a woman in her room. He, then, told me to hang on and about a minute later came back on the phone and said, “Do you want to know her name?” I was totally speechless and wondered nervously, “What does he mean by her name?”
Anthony quickly interrupted my thoughts and told me that I, indeed, had a ghost in my home and that her name was Amanda or a name that sounded like Amanda. I stood there in my living room with the phone pressed to my ear. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and wasn't sure I wanted to hear more. But Anthony continued, “She lived in your house a long time ago. She used to sleep in Erica's (my oldest daughter's) room. She says that she is very fond of Lia and often visits her in her room just to watch over her.”
I wanted to let out a scream, but my mind was too busy scanning the house for any signs of Amanda. “Who has the pink room?” he asked. Lia's room was pink. “Who has the purple room?” He went on. Erica's room was purple. “Is there a linen closet in hallway outside of Lia's room?” Yes, there is. “Do you have a big yard with a white fence around it?” Yes.
At this point, I couldn't hold it in any longer and yelled, “Anthony, STOP! How do you know that?” Anthony lives in Colorado, and I live in New Jersey. He had never been to my house before nor had I ever described it to him. Yet he was providing accurate descriptions of my house.
I can't say that I was relieved when Anthony replied, “She is showing me your house. Do you have a clock stuck between 8:45-10:45?” I was almost frantic at this point. “No, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have a clock stuck on that time!” Anthony insisted that I did; Amanda was telling him so.
“Does Lia cough a lot at night?” Again, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My daughter suffers from frequent sinus infections and often coughs at night. “Yes,” I replied almost telepathically. “Why do you want to know?”
“Amanda is telling me that she watches over Lia. She said she is not ready to let her go. She does not mean to scare Lia.”
“What? What does she mean she's not ready to let her go?” At this point, my motherly instincts set in. Maybe Amanda did not mean to scare my daughter, but she was. I yelled into the phone demanding that Anthony tell Amanda to leave Lia alone. To which he replied, “You just did. She's standing right next to you.”
I felt like I was going to faint. “Anthony, you're scaring me!” I shouted.
His feelings were somewhat hurt, but I didn't mean it the way it sounded. After all, I am a believer and have no doubt whatsoever in the afterlife.
Anthony tried to calm me by assuring me that this spirit was earthbound and that he would guide her to the Light. Knowing that I was Roman Catholic, he then asked me if I happened to have holy water in the house which I did. At this point I was instructed to get the holy water and sprinkle it throughout Lia's and Erica's rooms as we both prayed. He told me to picture Amanda in a bell jar in my backyard. This suggestion made no sense to me, but I wasn't about to argue; I wanted this spirit out of my home.
My heart was racing the entire time, but, after about ten minutes, Anthony said, “Josie, she is no longer in your house. She's in your backyard. I will now help to guide her to the Light.”
This was all very hard for me to believe. So there was a ghost in my house named Amanda who was very fond of my daughter. And my friend, an amazing medium, was able to ask her to leave and to guide her to the Light, all while speaking over the phone?
Of course, the true test would come later when my daughter went to bed. Would she complain about things moving in her room as she had done for over a month? Would she continue to refuse to sleep claiming that a ghost was in her room?
Astonishingly, Lia stopped complaining completely from that day forward. She has not complained about sleeping in her room since. She has stopped running into my room crying and asking to sleep with my husband and me. She stopped just like that. Was this outcome just a coincidence? No, I don't believe it was.
Remember the clock that Anthony said was stuck between 8:45-10:45? Initially, my husband and I could not find this now infamous clock. Truthfully, I did not want to find it.
But one week later, I was reaching for something in the back of a cabinet in my living room. In its back corner my eyes caught sight of an old clock that belonged to my parents. My heart began to race once again. I stared in utter disbelief. There, before my eyes, was the clock that Anthony (through Amanda) had told me about, and it was indeed stuck between 8:45-10:45.
Shortly afterwards, I ran into my neighbor and asked her if she knew whether a woman named Amanda had ever lived in my house. This lady has lived in my neighborhood her entire life, so if anyone would know the answer, she would be the one. No, there had been no Amanda at my house, but she said, “There had been an Andrea, though, who lived in your house back when it was first built.”
So her name was really
