‘Okay?’
‘With God’s blessing, we wish to communicate with our loved ones on the other side, receiving messages of love and good intent.’
The glass moved immediately and I was aware that my cheeks felt warm with anticipation. We’d positioned the table so the pendant lamp hung low over the centre of the table, illuminating the letters clearly. The glass had already spelt out its first word.
HI.
‘May we ask you your name?’
The glass spun round and round as if in excitement before spelling out its message: GUESS WHO. GUESS WHO.
‘Please can you spell out your name?’
ERIC.
The glass went wild now, moving in and out, right to the edges of the board in front of each of us in turn as if someone were acknowledging us all, saying hello.
ERIC, ERIC.
‘Uncle Eric?’
ERIC.
The light was flickering wildly over the table now as we all burst out laughing.
‘Hi … Hello!’ we all grinned.
‘Do you think it’s really him?’ someone whispered.
‘Hello, Uncle Eric!’
Everyone had tears in their eyes.
‘It’s real isn’t it?’ I said, more as confirmation than a question.
Over and over again the glass moved, one letter at a time, before BANG!
The flickering light bulb had blown over the table, and the room was plunged into near darkness. Di and Dilly gasped and Nick reached over and switched on another light, but the drinking glass continued to spin at speed around the table, still pointing to each of us in turn. We all sat wide eyed and slightly shocked before someone burst out laughing once again.
‘Eric, was that you? Oh my God do you think he blew the light bulb?’
Dilly jumped up from the table and the giggling commenced.
‘It’s okay, I have a spare bulb, but someone has to come with me! I’m not searching in the cupboard on my own!’ she laughed.
What a family reunion! Relative after relative communicated that 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