Throughout history, Humans have maintained relationships with the dead. Because we remember, and we know that our souls transcend this living world, we have always kept the Dead and their wisdom with us. The ancient Egyptians kept tombs they designed as permanent homes for their beloved deceased, and the ancestors before them.
Family altars and veneration of ancestors is an ancient tradition weaving throughout traditions all over the world. As a person in the modern world, you may have questions of the Dead. You may have a beloved grandparent who has passed to the next plane of existence at your elbow during a difficult situation. Fortunately, you have the ability to talk to the Dead, for their wise insight into your own life, and inspiration on how to move it forward.
Dreams
- A time-honored method for communicating with the Dead is through our dreams. This is the most direct way into the spirit world for those of us who still inhabit the material world. In your dreams, the Dead may come to you with messages, insights, and often, solutions to life problems if you pay attention.
Many times, the Dead visit the living right after their passing. In the days and weeks following death, the spirit still has many ties to the world of the living. Often, recently deceased people travel to those they have attachments to, appearing as uncommonly solid and real apparitions to living dreamers. These visits are often a way for the Dead to say farewell to those still on the material plane so they can let go and gain entry into the spirit world. These visits tend to be intensely felt, and are often very comforting to the living.
Traditional Methods: Ouija boards, mediums, séances
In the West, talking with the Dead has primarily taken place within the occult tradition. Time-honored methods include working with a Ouija board, visiting a medium and attending séances. All these methods have a parallel, if secret (or occult) history along with the western spiritual traditions of Christianity and Judaism.
They are methods of communicating with the Dead, which predate Europe’s conversion to Christianity and were preserved by courageous people whose lives were literally at stake to continue these practices. Of course, now in the contemporary world, we are free to consult these traditional systems in order to partake and benefit from the wisdom of the Dead.
Your Intuition: Sensing what the Dead are saying
Many have reported feeling a presence beside them, recognizing the essence of a person, when there is no physical body in the area. Many times, this is comforting, and if you listen to what the presence says, you’ll often find it to be wise counsel. Many children are unselfconscious about talking to an “invisible friend.” They gain company and an audience for their own thoughts. As humans, we are designed to crave company, guidance, and wisdom from others. We are social animals. It makes sense, then, that the Dead, looking in on our existence, are compelled to communicate when they have something to offer.
If you want to encourage a dead spirit to have a conversation with you, begin by observing your environment carefully. Do you have sensations related to another person when no one is around? Do you suddenly have a feeling of company, even when you’re alone? If so, you could be in the company of a spirit who you may or may not know. When you begin a conversation when alone, spoken aloud, or just with your thoughts, do you feel that someone has received your communication? Getting in touch with your own environment and carefully observing your intuition and your feelings will prepare you to be open to what the Dead have to say.
Your loved ones
Think about someone important to you who died some time ago. Perhaps you lost a grandmother who was in poor health before her death. It’s possible that, if you were open and paying attention, she visited you right after death. And though she had been gravely ill, she was sparkling and “alive” during her visitation. You could feel her presence and hear her voice telling you how wonderful everything is. She radiated pure happiness and love.
A visitation can happen while we are awake and in our dreams. And you may occasionally feel the presence of your dear and departed one. Many of us have a beloved grandparent, aunt, uncle, or parent who we keep for company long after they’ve died. We can also receive a visit from a friend, classmate or coworker who suddenly and unexpectedly dies. The person may seem almost solid, will often talk about going away and that everything that is happening is good. The Dead see more than we do, and they are as generous with their wisdom, and their love, as we allow them to be.
Historical figures
Have you ever been compelled to research an historical figure, and then wondered how your psyche and theirs would interact? Have you ever had conversations in your imagination, with Gandhi or Lincoln, or Martin Luther King? There are many who feel strongly that reading about great people keeps them alive in our memories, which invites their spirits to interact with us. That conversation you’ve been having with Amy Winehouse? It just might be Amy!
