As the leaves turn brilliant colors and the weather is perfect in Alabama in the month of October, we see signs of the upcoming holidays. One of my favorite holidays, is Halloween. It is a strange holiday here in the south. Many shun it and say that it is the devils holiday. Well if you research the origin of Halloween, you see that it is actually a religious holiday. I have been bothered by the public view of spiritual matters. We rush to see scary movies and haunted houses and spooky things. I love to go to them too! Cemeteries take on particular interest but for the wrong reason. The world view the dead as scary and skeletons and corpses. This perception always saddens me. If anyone has a connection with the spirit world it is assumed to be dark and haunting. The actual experiences are closer to the feelings that we experience at Christmas time. It is peaceful and happy and filled with light.

I think that Satan and his host want us to fear death and all things that are attached to it. In reality it could not be any more different than this perception.

In the past year I watched the movie “Hereafter” with great anticipation. I was sorely disappointed. There are so many negative things that are associated with death that I feel it gets such a bad wrap all the time. With the enlightened understanding about death and dying I see that we need to hold onto life with both hands and all our might. This will give us the fortitude to complete the mission that we were sent here to perform. If we only see and relate to the negative connotation of death we miss the whole and complete picture and how it relates to us in our daily lives. The movie “Hereafter” opened my eyes to the world view and made me cautious of sharing all my experiences. I do not share everything that happens between my son that passed away and I for they are held dear to my heart and most of our time is sacred and special. It is really family time, and would not be of interest to the general population. But because of the worlds perception I am cautious to always share my experiences with the world of the spirits. It is not evil or dark or scary. I must also address the fact that I cannot speak to any other person that has passed on. That is not part of the blessing I enjoy with my son.  I would have loved to talk to my own father since his death when I was a little girl. I have never been able to have a conversation with him. Our shared experiences are only impressions and feelings of when he is present at certain times of need.

I also watched the movie “Charlie St. Cloud”. I loved it. I could relate to it in such a personal way and I understood his way of dealing with grief. The rest of the town just thought he had lost his mind and was swallowed up in grief. They did not understand. When you experience a tragic death, it changes your perspective and outlook on life. Priorities are shifted and we are permantly changed. I hope that we can be more open- minded when it comes to associating with someone that is going through the difficult time of loss.

The world hears of communication with the dead and they immediately jump to the conclusion of evil spirits, demons, devils and witches. Not so I say. I think the wrong perception comes from all the people that delve in spiritual matters. If you search the topic of death and the world beyond death you come up with references of “The Occult.” In bookstores you find near death experiences and spiritual books dealing with this subject in “The Occult” sections. We need to change our perception. We do not need to “not talk about scary, unpleasant things, like death,” as many will say. If you feed into this perception it only promotes the wrong connotation to the subject matter. The best way to experience spiritual matters is to hit your knees and plead with heaven and our Father to understand. Then the true light of the subject will take over and we will see our spirits as what they truly are, beautiful, eternal and full of love and light and knowledge.

I do not want to throw water on anyone’s fun time at Halloween. I love dressing up and trick or treating too, but be careful to not let the dark things of this world become too important. After all Satan and his host do not wish for your happiness, quite the opposite. Next week I will be sharing a chapter in my book that talks about Halloween. I think it is best to share as it gives an illustration between the two worlds. We see how Halloween is perceived from the other side. Lose the movie Ideals, and think about the reality of spirits.