Embracing the Spirits: True Stories of My Encounters With the Other Side (5 page)

and his loved ones, especially since I knew that Matt was itching to do the same.

It’s times like these that my lack of clairaudience is partic-

ularly frustrating. How much easier would it be to just tune in and say
Right! What is it you want me to tell them?
Whereas all I’m able to do is say
There he is
…
on the stairs!

I knew that Matt was eager to provide proof of his pres-

ence, so I thought of little else for days whilst I tried to work out the best mode of contact. The orb photos and communication

via the pendulum were compelling, but I just needed that little something more. I was hoping for a concrete manifestation of

Matt’s energy which would leave little room for doubt.

Matt 31

Then it hit me like a sudden and obvious revelation,
why

not try table tipping?

Table tipping is a way of inviting spirit contact, whereby

the participants seat themselves around a table, place their

hands on it and invite the spirits present to move the table.

Successful contact can manifest as anything along a spectrum

of physical events; from the table simply vibrating to moving right across the room. The table is used as a vehicle for spirit energy, and has the potential to produce spectacular results.

Admittedly I balked a little when it first occurred to me;

after all table tipping could be classed as a type of séance. If I was honest with myself, it was just one step away from whipping out a Ouija Board, a form of communication which had

always made me feel uneasy.

However, in light of the recent séance I’d experienced with

Tony G, I felt confident that I could facilitate a safe interaction with the spirit world, as long as I took suitable precautions and had appropriate protection in place.

I was also bolstered by what Dot the medium had told me

a fortnight earlier. She had said that I was a channel and that in the future I would help people contact their loved ones in the spirit world. When I balked at the thought of conducting any

type of séance, she assured me that I had the ability and experience to do so safely. She told me that Ouija Boards and the

like are only dangerous when used ignorantly, as it is then that the doors to the spirit world are opened indiscriminately and

can lead to all types of havoc.

“It’s like crossing a busy road,” she explained. “If you just charge across without checking first, of course you can come

to grief. But if you approach mindfully and carefully, it’ll get 32 Matt

you exactly where you need to be. It’s the same with séances.

Approach with careful respect and you’ll be fine.”

With these thoughts in mind, I decided to ask Matt his

opinion on the matter via the pendulum.

“What do you reckon Matt?” I asked. “When the girls

come, do you think we should try our hand at table tipping?”

YES!
was the immediate response.

“Do you think you’ll be able to do it?”

Again, a strong and undeniable
YES.

And finally I asked whether he thought the sight of a table

tipping and moving of its own accord would freak the girls

out.

NO.

And so it was decided; if Matilda and her family were

happy to give it a try, table tipping it would be!

I spent a large part of the preceding day in preparation,

everything had to be just right. I hadn’t come this far to jeopar-dize the success of the evening by being ill-prepared, and I was paranoid about compromising our safety.

I meditated, prayed, burnt white candles and incense and

kept my home’s vibration high. I made it clear that only spirits who came from God’s light were welcome and I white-lighted

both myself and the house several times during the day. I also made sure that neither my guests nor I consumed any alcohol beforehand. It’s believed that alcohol lowers one’s vibra-

tion, which can in turn attract lower vibrational, earthbound

entities rather than the crossed-over spirits we were hoping to make contact with.

By the time Matilda and her family arrived at 8pm, the

house was buzzing with spirit energy. It seemed that word

had gotten out in the spirit world and the family room was

Matt 33

inundated with a throng of excited spirits. As much as I sensed their presence, I was still taken aback when Stu took a photo

which captured around 30 orbs waiting near the fireplace! I

was convinced it would be an eventful night.

I had asked Matilda to bring along a list of ten dates,

amongst which was Matt’s birthday. We then proceeded to call

out each date in turn, asking Matt via the pendulum whether

the date in question was his birthday. He answered
NO
to each until we reached the correct date, thereby providing the first validation that it was indeed Matt we were speaking to.

His family went on to ask him a barrage of questions, all of

which he answered correctly. By now we were in little doubt

that our spirit friend was Matt, and felt comfortable enough to up the ante and allow him to prove his presence further.

We moved over to the large round table. We seated our-

selves and placed our hands flat on the tabletop, fingers spread so as our little fingers were touching those of the person

beside us. We closed our eyes and breathed steadily, whilst I

white lighted the table and asked once again that only spir-

its who came from God’s light be permitted to make contact.

I asked for our guides to protect us from lower vibrational

entities. I also offered a specific invitation for Matt to come through.

Within a couple of minutes, the heavy wooden tabletop

began to vibrate. We opened our eyes and looked at each other

excitedly, Matt was beginning to make contact. The vibrations

were soon replaced by a gentle rocking motion, as the table

began to gently shake from side-to-side. We were overcome

with a sense of awe and happiness, delighted that Matt was

offering physical proof of his presence. We began encourag-

ing him to move the table more forcefully, and invited Matt

34 Matt

to use our psychic energy if he needed to. At this point it felt as though there was someone under the table; the energy was

starting to mount and it seemed to be straining to lift.

“Let’s move to a smaller table,” I suggested, reasoning that

it might be easier for Matt to lift off the ground.

We seated ourselves around a small wooden table, placing

our hands on the top once again. Almost instantly, the vibra-

tions began, soon to be replaced by a steady, unmistakeable

rock. The table legs banged on the floorboards as it seesawed

from side-to-side.

Our excitement was palpable and was increasing with

every passing minute.

“Tip it over Dad!” encouraged Matilda.

We all offered similar encouragement, egging Matt on

towards his spectacular finale.

It didn’t take long before one side of the table started to

lift, teetering shakily on two of its wooden legs.

“Keep going,” we cheered. “You can do it!”

The table continued to steadily tip, pausing precariously

above the floor at a thirty degree angle.

“Come on Dad … Bang it!” said Matilda.

“Don’t worry about the floor,” I added. “Just slam it down

for us!”

And in what was to be his spectacular finale, the table

slammed into the floor with a triumphant bang.

At this, we all began clapping, happy that Matt had been

able to provide proof of his presence as he had hoped.

As we debriefed afterwards, we were all similarly heart-

ened by the evening’s events. We were in no doubt that we had

just shared a wonderful experience with Matt, and we were

Matt 35

convinced that he was equally delighted with the success of

the night.

As evidenced by the large number of orbs which showed

themselves prior to our table-tipping session, I knew that my

preparations had attracted a large number of spirits to our

home.

As I lay on my bed the following afternoon, I noticed doz-

ens of flashing lights up near the ceiling. I was speaking on the phone to my friend, Deb, and was telling her about the previous night’s events.

The camera was beside me on the bed, so I grabbed it

and took a quick snap. Not surprisingly, the photo was sprin-

kled with numerous shining orbs. In light of this, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised by what happened next …

It was a few hours later and I had not long fallen asleep.

I was woken by my bed shaking, in the same steady rhythm

that the table had been shaking the night before. I wasted no

time snapping on the bedside lamp and as I sat up, the bed

continued to shake.

“Guys!” I said in a voice which betrayed my nervousness.

“Stop this right now!”

The bed continued to shake.

“If you freak me out, I’ll end up blocking you out forever.

This isn’t fair, it’s my rest time!”

I went on to tell them that there had to be boundaries.

The spirits were welcome to contact me, but preferably not

at night. And especially not when I was alone! I asked them to only come in the day time, or at night only if they had been

invited.

It took quite some time, but the bed eventually stopped

shaking and I got out my pendulum once again.

36 Matt

Matt stepped forward.

“Was that you shaking my bed?” I asked.

NO.

“
Were
spirits shaking my bed?”

YES.

“
Were they trying to frighten me?”

NO.

“Were they trying to get my attention?”

YES.

“Was there a main instigator?”

YES.

At this, I immediately knew it was Gary, the young man

who had shown himself at Matilda’s first visit. I asked Matt if he would please encourage Gary to step forward.

“Gary?” I asked, “Are you here?”

YES.

“Were you shaking my bed?”

YES.

“Are you going to do it again?”

NO.

“Promise?”

YES!

And at this, I made a promise of my own. Whatever it took,

I would find a way to contact Gary’s family. Gary didn’t want to frighten me, he was just desperate to let his family know that he was OK. I just needed to work out how I was going to facilitate a meeting with a family I had never met. Now that the doors of communication were open, there was no way I could turn back.

I hoped that between us, Gary and I would find a way.

As my mediumship abilities have developed over time, I’ve

certainly noticed how some spirits will do whatever it takes

to make themselves known to me. This is particularly true of

those who have taken their own lives. No matter how tenuous

the link between myself and the spirit, these souls somehow

manage to find me. Sometimes it feels as though they have

deliberately sought me out, to help them pass on messages of

reassurance to the families they have left behind.

This was particularly true with Gary, who made himself

known to me when the young journalist Matilda came to my

home. As you may recall, I was trying to facilitate contact

between Matilda and her father Matt; yet Gary was desperate

to be acknowledged and kept repeatedly butting in.

Matilda had been in a relationship with Gary’s brother,

Callum. He was now taking advantage of Matilda’s connec-

tion to me, in order to come through.

37

38 Gary

Unbeknownst to me at the time, there was another con-

nection between Gary and myself; he had actually been a

patient at my clinic. I have no idea how the realisation dawned on me but I was suddenly struck by the thought of
I wonder if
Gary’s ever been to my work?

Once the thought occurred to me I just couldn’t let it go,

so I jumped into my car and drove to the surgery. My recep-

tionist, Sue located Gary’s file within minutes. As I held it in my hands my heart was beating wildly, and I began to understand why he was reaching out to me.

Although Gary had been to my clinic several times as

a teenager, I had never met him personally. He had been

attended to by one of my staff members rather than myself.

But still, the link was there; he was using whatever means he

could to get through to his family.

I took the file home with me, grateful to have something

tangible to work with. It was heartening to have something

concrete that I could use to help link us together.

As I flicked through Gary’s notes to see where he’d lived, I

was taken aback to see that his house was just around the cor-

ner from mine. When I typed his address into Google maps,

I was stunned by what I saw. Gary had lived only six hundred

meters away, his house virtually in line with my own. No won-

der he had gravitated to me!

Since Gary had been vying for my attention from the

moment he first came to my house with Matilda, I called her

to ask what she thought we should do. Gary had been moving

things in my house and had appeared to me as both an orb and

an apparition. He had been shaking my bed and waking me at

night. Although the bed shaking had been unnerving, I knew

Gary 39

that Gary wasn’t trying to frighten me. He was just desperate