Seeing Spirit

If you have arrived here because someone you love has died, I want you to know that first. The ones we love do not stop being part of our lives when they cross. They visit. You may already have had a visit and put it down to tiredness, or grief, or your imagination. This page is about how to notice, and how to reach out.

The first time

I remember the first time I saw spirit. I had sensed them many times before, and I sent out a strong desire to the universe asking to see one.

It was one of those cases of be careful what you ask for.

I was lying in bed, and a spirit head came up through the covers and looked at me. I remember thinking at the time that he looked like Tom Baker, the actor famous for being one of the Doctor Who incarnations.

My immediate reaction was to pull the covers over my head. Then I peeked back out to see if he was still there. He was. I hid under the blanket again for a while, and the next time I looked he was gone. I slept with the light on for three nights after that.

Now I look back on that and smile. I have seen spirit many times since, and it is a very different me doing the observing. I tell the story because if your first time frightens you, you are in good company, and it gets easier.

Why you miss it

Your centre vision has a narrower light frequency range than your peripheral vision.

It is your peripheral vision that usually picks up a spirit presence. You catch something out of the corner of your eye, and your immediate response is to turn and look straight at it to get a better look. That turn drops you back into your centre vision, with its narrower range, and you find nothing there.

If you had kept looking with your peripheral vision, there is a good chance you would have seen what was actually there.

Women have a greater peripheral range than men, and generally are more likely to see spirit.

You can test your own range. Stand and hold both arms straight out in front of you, level with the floor. Slowly move them back in an arc, keeping them level. Most men lose sight of their hands roughly where their arms come into a straight line with their shoulders. Most women can still see their hands a little behind that line.

Learning not to turn

The practice is simple, and it takes some discipline at first.

The next time something moves at the edge of your sight, do not turn your head. Stay still. Keep looking with the edge of your vision, where the movement was, and let it show you what is there.

You will want to turn. With practice, it becomes easy not to.

I would also encourage you to read the Seeing Auras page in the Your Abilities area, because combining the two techniques can open up a whole new world of discovery.

The other ways they come

Seeing is only one of the ways spirit makes itself known.

Sometimes it is a smell. A waft of pipe tobacco, or his aftershave, or her perfume, or a particular kind of cooking, in a room where it has no business being. Sensing a smell that has no source within smelling distance is an ability of its own, clairscentience, and The Clairs page covers it with the others.

Sometimes it is their song on the radio at exactly the right moment. Sometimes it is a quiet, sure sense that they are standing near while you do something they loved.

Sometimes it is an object. Holding something that belonged to them, a ring or a watch, can let you tune into their life, whether they are still here or have passed over. The Psychometry page is about that.

And very often it is a dream that feels different from ordinary dreams, more vivid, more real, and you wake knowing you were with them. Dream visits are the most common visit of all.

Reaching out

A question I have been asked a lot over the years is how to talk to someone who has passed over. There are a number of ways, and the ones here are the ones you can do on your own.

The easiest is to talk to them out loud. You can also talk to them in your mind. It is very likely you will not get an answer straight away, so it can feel quite one sided. Do it anyway.

Then ask them to visit you in a dream, so you can talk to them there. Ask, too, that you will remember the dream when you wake. Of everything I teach on this, it is the simplest and the most likely to work, and you get to talk with them instead of only being handed a message. The Dreams page in the Relationships and Guidance area goes further.

Keep in mind that those in spirit have their own lives to live. They are not sitting idly by waiting for you to make contact, and they will not always come through when you visit a medium either. They come when they have something to pass on. A dream request gives them notice, which makes it easier for them to respond.

Be patient. It may not happen immediately.

One rule

Never allow a spirit to attach to you.

A spirit that has your highest good at heart will only ever want to pass information to you. It will never want to attach. Any spirit that does want to attach is not there for your good, and inviting one in is like giving a vampire free access to you. Nothing good can come from it. Please never ask for an attachment, and never try it to see what happens. I have seen situations where lives were put at risk by it.

If you think something has attached to you, do not try to live with it. Get help from someone experienced in breaking attachments.

Where to go from here

If your grief is very new, the Taken Too Soon page is the next one to read. If you want the bigger picture of where they have gone, read the What Happens When We Die page.

Have you ever caught something out of the corner of your eye, turned to look, and found nothing there?

Next time, do not turn.

If you would like this read against your own chart, my readings are here.