night. We could do it! Are we all mediums in our own way? Had the spirits contacted us, reaching out across the heavens using a combination of all of our energies? How did it work and actually, did it matter?
We seemed addicted to the process and when we finally called a halt to the evening session it was well into the early hours of the morning. No one had really wanted to finish but Dilly had reminded us that, of course, we could have another go the next night.
We all joined hands and I read out my closing statement. I thanked the spirits for visiting us and asked that they consider coming back the following night, whilst we sat with them again. I also asked that the contact be ended for the night, but it didn’t work quite as we’d intended. Di, Debbie and I were staying the night at Nick’s parents’ home and we drove the few miles down the road before letting ourselves quietly into the house.
I woke up several times, as if relatives who’d been unable to get through were trying to visit me still. Di remembered having an out of body experience where she’d been looking down at me floating at the bottom of the stairs … luckily I didn’t remember! What a weird night.
Dilly had a spirit visitor in the night too. An estranged aunt came to her during the early hours. This aunt had treated Dilly badly in life and she had clearly decided to use the opportunity to say sorry now by showing her a spirit board and spelling out the words SORRY in a sort of dream vision. We were all exhausted the following morning and exchanged notes.
Debbie remembers little except that she was ashamed of Dianne’s and my sleepwear. She’d arrived as a well-seasoned visitor with a glamorous, long silky nightgown and robe. Apparently, I was wearing a pair of scruffy pyjamas and Di had brought an old t-shirt! Although we’d been assigned different bedrooms we all ended up together. No one admitted they’d been affected by the evening’s experience. Like small sisters who huddle together after a nightmare we’d reverted to childhood and pulled mattresses onto the floor so that we could be together. No one had a lot of sleep.
The next night was our last. We had one more short session on our angel board, but it wasn’t as satisfying as the first. Eric turned up again of course but we’d seen the show already. Relatives had gathered from far and wide but we’d already spoken with them. To be honest, that last evening was a bit of a let down. It was the day after the family reunion, and it felt like the day after Christmas. But I had to admit, it was the start of another journey and I was determined to use this new tool again. And so we returned home.
I’d barely unpacked my bag when my friend Wendy arrived the next morning for coffee. She rushed in, all excited.
‘Hi Wendy, how are you?’
‘Fine, thanks. I have a message for you – at least I think it’s for you.’
‘A message?’
‘Yes, who’s Eric?’
‘You’re kidding right?’ I was shocked to say the least. ‘Have you been speaking to Debbie?’
‘No, why?’
‘Did you know we’d been away all weekend and why? We’ve been to Cornwall and … no, tell me about your message first.’
‘Well, it’s not a message exactly but it’s just this name. I’ve been hearing the name “Eric”all weekend, and I feel sure that I have to give you the name as a sort of confirmation of something.’
How on earth had Wendy picked up the name Eric? Of course, I brought her up to date with what we had been doing and why ‘Eric’ was so significant a name for me. If there had been any doubt whatsoever, then it had totally left me now. Eric had also been visiting my friend whilst we were away to ensure that we realized the whole spirit board communication was a real experience. Eric might have been a much loved uncle when he was alive, but he was determined not to be forgotten now he had ‘died’.
Communicating with letters and a glass might be dangerous if used incorrectly but for us it had been a wonderful tool and an amazing way of establishing a family reunion. Of course, Wendy couldn’t wait to have a go on the board with us!
Meeting the Spirit Guides
Your own guide is in touch with you all the time Daisy … no matter how they communicate, everyone can tap into their guidance. You use it every day without even knowing it. Most of us have more than one guide. Gracious, I have a dozen …
Aunt Phoebe, in Fireworks by Jill Wellington and Edna Mae Holm
We’d spoken to our loved ones on the ‘other side’ but I had read a lot about angels and spirit guides and I wondered if it would be possible to chat with them on the angel board, too.
Spirit guides are advanced human souls, who act as our teachers and friends from the ‘other side’. Our spirit guides are aware of our life path – our goals and wishes. Their role is to support this path and help to ensure we reach these goals by helping to place the right people in our lives at the right time.
I’d been reading a lot about spirit guides at this time. Not everyone has a Native American spirit guide, as so many TV shows seem to indicate, but other archetypes include religious figures and other wise figures from history. I wanted to know more about my own guide. Most people agree that we are born with our own spirit guide and that others pop in and out of our lives as special skills are needed.
If you want to learn to play the piano, then guides with musical talents will step forward. If you want to learn to paint then a guide with an interest in art will come and assist. If you want to become good at handling money then a guide with knowledge in this area will be attracted to you … you get the idea. I believe that what many people experience as ‘angels’ are probably their personal guides. Most of us can’t tell the difference and I don’t think it matters as long as the energy is positive, and ‘feels’ and acts in our highest interests.
When I was a child I used to see a male figure in my bedroom – I would wake up several times a night and this person was always standing in my room, but as I awoke the figure would fade away. The visitor was a spirit. Was this my guide watching over me? Was his voice the ‘inner counsel’ that supported my life? Was he my ‘intuition’and my ‘natural instinct’? Did he have a name even?
As soon as possible I decided I needed to make a portable angel board; something we could carry around rather than a bag of letters. Di, Debbie and I would get together with our friend Wendy and it could be at any of our houses, so we needed to be prepared. We had to be able to chat with our friends anywhere and at any time.
I felt that I needed to take charge of the task and raced into town to buy a large sheet of card from our local art shop. I decided to be creative and was keen on using a gold-coloured board to make our communication instrument. To be honest, it never really worked out well. It looked great but they didn’t seem to be able to see the letters. I think the gold card reflected too much. Or maybe I had just made it too complicated?
We always communicated with the ‘other side’ in full light – preferably daylight, but at least sitting in a room with all the lights on. I spent hours creating fancy symbols as ‘short-cut’words but in the end, most of the time we just used the plain white card on the reverse side of the board which was easier for the spirits
