CHAPTER 8 - "DO GHOSTS EXIST?"

A ghost is a spirit which is held between this world and “the other side.” Is this voluntary? In some instances, it is. I was visiting my friend, the medium in Bangkok, when I saw a ghost for the very first time. Sitting at the dining room table, reading something, out of the corner of my eye I saw a Thai man dressed in white walking up the stairs which led to the second floor of the house. My friend was upstairs at the time. I turned to watch him walk up. I knew he was a ghost because I was able to see light through his body. When he reached the landing, he turned around and smiled at me, then continuing to walk up the steps. I yelled for my friend. She rushed down because she thought I was having a heart attack. I told her what I saw. Her response boggled my mind. She said, “Was it the man, the woman or the child?“ It seems that an entire family of ghosts live in that house. She has seen all of them; her husband has seen them; her daughter has seen them. She believes that the family of ghosts stay to protect her family, and I certainly believe that. So, their staying between two dimensions is voluntary.

Many ghosts do not know they have died and want to cling onto the life they had when they lived. This is especially true of those who had led lives of wealth, who had all the comforts without any suffering. They do not want to leave what they had. They do not understand that on “the other side” there is no necessity for wealth, for whatever you want you have. The pharaohs of Egypt believed that they could take all their possessions with them when they died. Of course, this is not so. We are born with nothing and we die with nothing - nothing except for the experiences we have had and the lessons we have learned. But to think that we could take material things with us is absurd. We need nothing on the “other side.“ Everything we want we imagine we have and we do. But, this happens only if you have led a life of goodness and kindness to others. This does not happen if you go to that dark, dreary plane.

The next time I saw a ghost was in my apartment in New York City. He was standing in the corner of the kitchen area, just looking at me. He vanished after a minute. I do not know who he was, but I am sure he came out of curiosity. When I was hospitalized recently, a friend who lives in my building said when he peered through window into my apartment he saw a whirlwind of haze in the middle of the room. He knew it was a ghost. This same man said he saw Jesus Christ, and I believe him!

If any of you readers think you saw a ghost, I am sure you have. Remember that ghosts never come to harm us. Their reason for appearing is usually out of curiosity or if they are trying to give us a message. The barrier between the two dimensions is there for a reason, but after the Shift there will be no barrier anymore and communication between this side and the other will be a fact.

There is a very great difference between a ghost and an evil entity. Ghosts will never harm the living; in fact, they are very playful and enjoy making the living their playmates. I remember a time when I was tickled by a spirit. Often, I have found that something has disappeared from my apartment. I know that it is a spirit who does this; eventually what was taken is returned. It is solely for enjoyment that spirits perform practical jokes on the living. But, never would a joke be harmful.

An evil entity is totally different. It is not that those spirits perform practical jokes on us. They will often possess the body of the living, and only through a religious action can they be dispelled. The Church tries to keep hidden those cases in which the rites of exorcism are performed, and the reason for their hiding this is to allay fear in man. Often an evil spirit will possess the body of a child, for a child has not as yet displayed the strength to ward off the evil.

I remember that the beginning of this unusual occurrence began on a Thursday. For a long time I had been planning to purchase a Walkman, for the one that I had broke a few years ago, and I never replaced it. I had so many tape cassettes that I could not listen to, so as I passed a shop which was having a sale, I walked in and bought a new Walkman.

Returning home, I looked at all the cassettes I had, deciding which one to listen to first. As I was pondering this, a man who in this life was named Shlomo Carebach came into my thoughts and communicated that I would be doing him a great honor were I to listen to his tape first. Shlomo Carlbach was a Hassidic rabbi who also was a folk singer with his own style of song. Most of the songs he wrote and sang were in praise of God. Of course, I put that particular cassette into the Walkman and listened. Even though I do not understand Hebrew, as I listened I cried. The songs touched my heart. The rest of that day all I did was listen to that tape over and over again.

The following morning, was a Friday and as I was praying, my “guide” came to me and asked if the following morning I would go to the services at a Hassidic synagogue. I did not question this, for I felt that if I were asked to do that it must have some great significance and importance.I went to a predominantly Hassidic area of New York, and the first person I saw I asked where the closest synagogue was located. I arrived there at 8:30AM, since I did not know the time the Saturday morning services began. When I walked in the temple was half-filled with people. Of course, the women were separated from the men. Everyone seated looked at me when I walked in, and I am sure they all wondered what I was doing there. I do not own either a suit or a prayer shawl, but I did wear a skullcap, which was the one I wore to my wedding. I had saved it all these years.

After I sat down, I noticed that no man would sit next to me. The women were separated from the men, which is customary practice amongst the Hassidim. When the services started, and of course they were in Hebrew, which I do not understand, to my right was an area which could seat 3 men and to my left two could sit comfortably. No one wanted to sit near me. About 15 minutes into the service, I felt someone sit down next to me, but I did not turn to see what the man looked like. All of a sudden, the man said “Good morning, Blake.” Of course, I almost fell off my chair. I turned my head and was looking directly at Shlomo Carlebach. He said, “I am here to talk to you.” I was so stunned that I forgot I could communicate telepathically with him; my only thought was that if I spoke people near me would think I was a crazy man.

I stood up to leave the temple, with everyone’s eyes on me. I walked out into the street, and since the temple was located in a very orthodox Jewish area, the streets were practically empty since most people were in temples praying. As I started to walk to the bus stop, Shlomo appeared again next to me, walking with me. He said that his communicating with me originally when he asked me to play his music was no accident. He said that he was proud to be a “Messenger” from our Creator. What he told me next really blew my mind. He said that he is there to inform me that I will now be able to not only communicate with spirits but also will be able to see them. My soul has advanced to such a level that God deemed it proper that I should be able to do this.

I asked Shlomo whether I can see a specific spirit when I think of that person. My thoughts were of the film ‘The Sixth Sense,” in which a boy saw spirits all the time because they all had unfinished business on earth and needed his help. I knew that I could not devote the rest of my life to performing that function. Shlomo told me that that would not happen. When a spirit wants to be seen by me, he or she will make that decision. I cannot just think of someone and that person will appear. I was relieved, to say the least. I was told that I am evolving, which was exactly what my guide had said to me.

The next few days were a blur, for I continuously kept thinking of what had happened that Saturday morning. Going home on the bus, I missed my stop and went to the end of the line. Without thinking to ask the bus driver whether I can stay and be dropped off once he starts his route again, I got off the bus, and instead of taking a taxi home, I walked. I just was not thinking. Later that day, when I called my ex-wife to talk with her, instead of calling her cell phone I called her house phone. When she answered, she asked why I did not call her on her cell phone, as I usually do. I did not realize that I was calling the other number.

Monday morning, around 4:20AM, the spirit of the Christ appeared next to me. He said nothing, only smiled and nodded his head. I knew I was seeing the Savior, for I knew exactly what he looked like. I believe that had he spoken with me, he would have told me that not only are God’s Messengers proud of me but God itself is!! I was a bit rattled by his appearance, though.

Two mornings later, again as I was praying, both my mother and father appeared before me. They both appeared as I remember them to be looked wonderful, not early thirties as all spirits are. They were holding hands, which was most unusual since their marriage was not a good one and they never showed any affection toward each other. That appearance thrilled me, for I know that my dad is at a higher plane than my mom, so they must have arranged the visit.

I have had many experiences the last 9 years which cannot be explained, but all of this went right to the top of the list. No other spirit has appeared after that, but I am sure that now that that door is opened, I can expect the unexpected. I do believe that spirits will appear only when I pray.