Friday, April 13, 2012

Intersection of Worlds

    The first time I heard the expression "thin places" was at a Celtic Spirituality workshop.  As soon as the facilitator began to explain what thin places were, I knew exactly what she was talking about.  I had grown up with the belief, but in all honesty, I thought it was just a family belief.

     So what are thin places?  They are spots where the veil between the natural and supernatural worlds is so thin that sometimes you can see or at least sense the other side.  I've mentioned my mother's belief that heaven is not "up there," but is actually all around us.  This fits right in with the concept of thin places.  In Irish folklore, the faery world is thought to be a parallel world that exists in the same space as the natural world.  Most humans, however, aren't able to see or even sense the faeries.  This is similar to what I mean by saying that heaven is all around us.  So all those who've "moved on" are actually still here.  We just don't normally see them.  A thin place, then, is a place where it is easier to connect with them.

     Previously I've mentioned that I believe in ghosts, however, I don't believe in wispy, transparent things or spots of ectoplasm.  I believe in ghosts because I've seen them and and the ones I've seen have been three-dimensional and solid, even though sometimes I've only seen a head rather than a whole body.  From early childhood on, I have had encounters with spirits.  This hasn't been an everyday thing nor is there a pattern to it.  Whenever I've seen a ghost, the experience has been unexpected and usually brief.  Some have been relatives.  Some have been strangers.  Only two have been malevolent.

     Today, the only story I will share is about my father.  He died in 2002.  Both of my parents have gone to heaven now, but Dad was the first to go.  He had  pulmonary fibrosis and died gasping for breath even though he was wearing an oxygen mask.  Of course it wasn't easy to let him go, but I wanted him to be out of the suffering more than I wanted to hold on to him. I firmly believe in heaven, so I knew he would be going to a better place.  Also, I didn't think he was going too far. Since early childhood, I have prayed and I have felt the presence of God, the Blessed Mother and some saints.  I felt an absolute connection with them.  I was shocked, therefore, when my dad died and I couldn't feel him anymore.  I prayed and prayed and tried to talk with him, but I all I felt was emptiness.  This not only depressed me, it shook my faith.  Had that "connection" with God et al just been a creation of my imagination?  This went on for a while.  My mom also was in distress.  She had been visited by her older brother when he died.  Her mother had come with a comforting message when she died.  My dad had been her soul mate, so she expected a reassuring visit from him, but...nothing.

     Then one day I was sitting on my couch, praying with everything that was in me.  I wasn't praying about my dad.  I was upset about some other things that were going on in my life and I was in a great deal of distress. Generally I pray with my eyes closed, but for whatever reason, I opened them at one point and was startled to see my dad's face looking at me.  "Daddy!" I exclaimed.  He seemed surprised that I saw him and he literally pulledl his head back behind the curtain.  I was frustrated that he left and called after him, but didn't see him again. Since that time, however, I have been able to feel his presence when I talk to him.  At times, I will suddenly feel his presence when I haven't been thinking about him.  I don't have to be in distress.  Sometimes I just feel the joyfulness of his presence.  My mom, by the way, also got "a visit" in a dream.  He came and kissed her, then smiling and wrapped in light, he left.

     Now my mom has left to join him.  I only can feel their presences now and then, but I know they are always nearby, right behind the thin curtain.

     Have you ever experienced the presence of someone from the other side?


  Have you ever been in a place where you could sense that there was more going on than you could see?


     

4 comments:

  1. Pulmonary fibrosis. How awful. As an asthmatic (doing much better, thank God), I think any condition where you can hardly breathe is one of the worst.
    I don't see dead people, but I sometimes have a strong impression that a certain saint who is with God is praying for me and concerned about my situation. Could be my mother or father, or family members I never met, or friends, or more distant saints.

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    1. Yes, difficulty breathing is a little terrifying, I think. I don't have asthma, thank God, but I had asthmatic bronchitis as a child, and just recently had pneumonia. Not fun. I'm glad that you are doing much better.

      Interesting about your saint. I'm sure that you have many family members who've passed on looking out for you and praying for you. It's wonderful that you feel the prayer and concern of a particular saint. Have you ever tried talking with the saint? I don't mean a new age seance sort of thing. I mean just taking a moment to focus on this person and say "Thank you for praying for me," or just sitting for a couple of moments and allowing the saint's love and concern wash over you. I believe that there is evil in the world, but I know that God's love if far greater. Those who have gone before us are now basking in the fullness of God's love and I believe that they want to pour that love onto us. They already know that, as God told Julian of Norwich, "All is well, all is well, all manner of things are well." God's love enfolds us and we are safe and protected, even though we often don't realize it, if we only stay in God's arms.

      I like your term "more distant saints." Your "certain saint" may be someone who is neither a relative or friend, but just a loving soul. At any rate, what a blessing that you feel the saint's prayers and concern!

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  2. As for ghosts: The only thing I understand about Einstein is that time isn't linear, as we normally experience it.
    In a sub-basement next to York Minster, people have seen the Roman legionnaires marching, as this is the site of their pretorium. Soldiers seen from roughly the waist up, since their ground is roughly 3 feet below the current basement floor!
    Troops break step, crossing a bridge. So it seems logical that the vibrations created by soldiers on the march would vibrate through time.
    On Chisholm Trail Road in Round Rock TX, the site of the actual Chisholm Trail, driving southward one evening with cow pastures on each side--prickly pear cactus etc.--I was suddenly aware that I was pressing through a great surge of cattle and covered wagons traveling in the opposite direction. I didn't exactly see them, but the force of their numbers and determination was there.
    And living in Medinet Habu, part of the site of the ancient capital Waset (Thebes), next to the site of the eighteenth dynasty palace complex. One evening, in the broad hallway of my apartment, I was conscious of being inadvertently elbowed by people in a thick crowd--the ancient inhabitants of the city which is now mostly farmland.

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  3. Yes, I've heard about the legionnaires and other similar sightings (for want of a better word). I do agree with you (and Einstein) that this is likely a time relativity situation. I also believe that some "ghosts," especially ones who are traced to someone who lived in the place previously and who has a pattern of doing certain things every night is either a case of time co-existing or perhaps an echo of energy. But that isn't the same thing that I am talking about. When my mom was about five or six, she had to stay in a hospital for close to a year because she had polio. Her brother, who was ten, died during that time. My mom's parents chose not to tell her (I guess they didn't want to upset her). Her brother came to her, sat beside her and put his arm around her and told her that he had died. She later confronted her mom about this and her mom admitted that he had died. When my mom's mother died, she came to my mom (who lived in Florida, her mom lived in New York) to tell her not to be upset, that she (my grandmother) was happy. The next day, my aunt from New York called with the news that my grandmother had died during the night.

    Your experiences in Texas and in Medinet Habu are powerful. Even though both of these experiences fit with what you are saying about Einstein's theory, it also seems that you have a sensitivity to thin places. Not everyone does.

    Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to step into the world of the covered wagons or the crowded city of Thebes for a bit and experience that alternate reality?

    Blessings,

    Chris

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