When Supernatural Monsters Like Vampires Stopped to Count

The Forgotten Folklore of Seeds, Salt, and Supernatural Weaknesses

Many supernatural monsters in folklore were believed to possess strange weaknesses. From vampires and witches to troublesome spirits and fairies, stories from around the world describe creatures that could be distracted or delayed by seeds, grains, salt, and other curious objects. These unusual beliefs reveal a lesser-known side of traditional monster folklore.

​A Strange Detail That Wouldn't Go Away

The first reference occupied no more than a few lines.

I nearly skipped past it.

A vampire. A handful of seeds. And a suggestion that the creature would stop to count them.

That was all.

I made a note and carried on with whatever I had originally been researching. Folklore collections are full of odd details. Most turn out to be local curiosities that never seem to appear anywhere else.

At least, that is what I assumed.

Then the same idea surfaced in another source.

Not exactly the same story. Not even the same country.

But close enough.

A supernatural being confronted with a collection of small objects and somehow compelled to count them.

I started keeping notes.

Finding examples was not as straightforward as I expected. Many references were brief. Others appeared almost in passing, tucked away among discussions of completely different subjects. Still, the list slowly grew.

The subject of Vampires and their behavior drifted into the background for a while until recently, when I attended a talk on vampire folklore and the sometimes surprising measures communities once used to protect themselves from suspected vampires.

The old note came back to mind.

So did the seeds.

The Supernatural Monster Who Had To Count

Today there is a word for an obsessive need to count.

Arithmomania

The term belongs to modern psychology rather than folklore, but it provides a convenient label for something that appears surprisingly often in traditional stories.

The details vary.

The creatures vary.

Yet the basic idea remains remarkably consistent.

Present certain supernatural beings with enough objects to count and they become distracted from whatever they were doing.

For a modern reader, it feels like an odd weakness.

For the people who preserved these stories, it was often a useful one.

Salt appeared frequently in protective folklore. Beyond its practical value, scattered grains could also become a challenge for troublesome spirits and other supernatural visitors.

In parts of Eastern Europe, poppy seeds and other grains were sometimes scattered to distract vampires, buying precious time until dawn.

A Handful of Seeds and a Vampire

The clearest examples tend to involve vampires.

Across parts of Eastern Europe, particularly within Slavic traditions, seeds were sometimes associated with protection against the undead. Poppy seeds appear frequently, although millet and other grains can also be found in the stories.

The reasoning was simple.

Scatter enough seeds and the vampire begins counting.

One grain.

Then the next.

Then another.

And another.

It is not how most of us picture a vampire.

Popular culture has given us elegant aristocrats, dark castles, flowing capes, and dramatic confrontations.

Traditional folklore could be much stranger.

The vampire remained dangerous, but it also seemed constrained by peculiar rules. In some stories, seeds were scattered over graves suspected of harboring the restless dead. In others, they might be thrown behind a fleeing traveler.

The goal was not necessarily victory.

A delay could be enough.

A few minutes might help somebody reach shelter.

A few hours might carry the night toward dawn.

And dawn was often the thing a vampire feared most.

Nets, Knots, and Other Problems

The more examples I found, the more often another object appeared.

Fishing nets.

At first they seem unrelated.

Then the connection becomes obvious.

A net contains countless openings.

According to some traditions, a supernatural intruder confronted by a fishing net would become occupied counting every gap before proceeding.

Similar ideas appear elsewhere.

• Knots.
• Threads.
• Tangled cords.

Sometimes the creature is counting. Sometimes it is untangling. Sometimes it is simply trapped in an endless repetitive task.

The details change.

The principle remains familiar.

Keep the creature busy.

Let time do the rest.

---

Witches at the Threshold

The same motif appears in traditions concerning witches.

In parts of Italy, sieves and colanders occasionally acquired a protective role. Left near a doorway or entrance, they supposedly forced a witch to stop and count the many holes before entering.

• Every hole mattered.
• Every hole had to be counted.
• By then, the night might be nearly over.

As with much folklore, it is difficult to know how literally such stories were taken. What matters is that the idea survived.

Versions of the belief later appeared in parts of Appalachia after European traditions crossed the Atlantic. Details shifted from place to place, but the central theme remained recognizable.

The witch encounters something that demands counting.

The counting becomes the trap.

According to some traditions, witches could be delayed by objects containing numerous holes, such as sieves or colanders, forcing them to count until sunrise.

Fairies Were Not Always Friendly

The fairies found in older folklore can be surprisingly unpleasant.

Many were blamed for spoiled milk, missing household items, frightened livestock, and various forms of everyday mischief.

People responded accordingly.

In several traditions, grains, flax seeds, or salt could be scattered around places frequented by troublesome spirits. The being would supposedly become occupied counting rather than causing trouble.

One note in particular caught my attention.

It concerned a mischievous spirit from Spain known as the Trasgu.

Descriptions vary from region to region, but the creature is usually portrayed as an energetic household nuisance. It moves objects, creates disorder, and generally makes life difficult for the people sharing its home.

One recurring detail is especially curious.

The Trasgu is often described as having holes in its hands.

As a result, small objects slip through its fingers. Certain tasks become impossible to complete.

Stories frequently place the spirit in situations where this weakness works against it. It is assigned impossible jobs, repetitive tasks, or challenges involving tiny objects that continually escape its grasp.

The result is less a confrontation than an exercise in frustration.

Why Salt Appears Everywhere

At a certain point I began noticing another recurring feature.

Salt.

It turns up repeatedly in folklore.

• On thresholds.
• Across windowsills.
• Around doorways.
• Within protective rituals.

That probably should not be surprising.

For most of human history, salt was far more valuable than many of us appreciate today. It preserved food, supported trade networks, and helped communities survive difficult seasons.

People depended on it.

Folklore tends to attach meaning to things that matter.

Salt also appeared to resist corruption. Food preserved with salt lasted longer. Decay slowed. Spoilage could be delayed.

Then there is the counting element.

Unlike a stone or a piece of iron, salt can be scattered into thousands of individual grains.

A protective substance.

A symbolic purifier.

And, according to some traditions, a counting challenge.

All in the same handful.

Salt appeared frequently in protective folklore. Beyond its practical value, scattered grains could also become a challenge for troublesome spirits and other supernatural visitors.

More Than Just Superstition

A bag of seeds is a curious thing to carry as protection.

Yet the idea appears often enough that it must have appealed to people for a reason.

The stories may differ, but they all arrive at roughly the same place.

The creature can be delayed.

The night can be bought a little time.

That is what interests me most.

Not whether vampires counted poppy seeds.

Not whether witches paused outside a doorway to count holes in a sieve.

But the way these stories impose rules on something frightening.

The supernatural threat remains dangerous.

Yet it becomes predictable.

A weakness exists.

A loophole can be found.

Sometimes that loophole is nothing more than a handful of seeds dropped onto a dark road.

The Last Grain

I originally assumed the reference was a local oddity.

It turned out not to be.

• A vampire distracted by seeds.
• A witch counting holes in a sieve.
• A troublesome spirit trapped by an impossible task.

The stories are separated by geography, language, and centuries.

Yet somehow they arrive at the same strange conclusion.

Give a monster enough things to count and, for a while at least, it may leave you alone.

Today most people know vampires through novels, movies, and television. They recognize the fangs, the coffins, and the dramatic entrances.

Few remember the seeds.

Yet the seeds remained in the stories long after many other details changed.

That, perhaps, is worth counting.

---

Further Reading

Briggs, Katharine. An Encyclopedia of Fairies

Dundes, Alan (ed.). The Vampire: A Casebook

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters

Kligman, Gail. The Wedding of the Dead: Ritual, Poetics, and Popular Culture in Transylvania

Simpson, Jacqueline and Steve Roud. A Dictionary of English Folklore

Summers, Montague. The Vampire in Europe

Westwood, Jennifer and Jacqueline Simpson. The Lore of the Land

Have I Been Abandoned?

There is no doubt about it – grief is a debilitating emotion and a journey that we all have to take. There are so many aspects to grief and grieving, that one can’t really begin to label them and it would be wrong to do so. Experiencing the touch of the spirit world can never be forgotten but over time, an individual may feel they have been abandoned yet again. Why? Because the elation that comes with just one experience with the spirit world is short lived and can leave the individual feeling abandoned once more.

When we lose a loved one, we often experience some form of connection from the other side. There are abundant stories of how loved ones have reached out with unusual signs and signals to let us know that they are around. For instance, one person may experience the unusual appearance of a butterfly or perhaps some other sign from the animal kingdom. Another may feel the touch of their loved ones from the other side in other unusual ways, including communication from electronic devices. For example, on one occasion during a sitting, a mother was told her daughter would connect with her through the phone, and she did. No matter how those experiences manifest, they are felt deeply at every conceivable level. But when no other experience is forthcoming, one can begin to feel a sense of disappointment and abandonment and develop a yearning to hold onto those deeply personal experiences. It’s rather like someone feeling the need to binge eat or drink, that feeling of euphoria wants and needs to be constant.

Have I been abandoned?

The answer is a resounding NO! But of course that is often unbelievable to the grieving individual who is suffering and trying to come to terms with their loss. Unless you continue to feel that comfort you experienced in the first realization of death, you will come to the conclusion that you have been abandoned.

So what has happened? Why do you feel such distance? There can be a few reasons for this, but the underlying truth is that you are not abandoned and that spirit is always trying to let you know of their presence. Let’s look at some possible explanations as to why you may feel the way you do and what could also be happening on the spirit side of life.

You have been given proof and recognized it

Oftentimes, when someone passes over to the other side and they have some prior spiritual awareness, they will be acutely aware of the loss that you are feeling and they will be compelled to reach out in some way and let you know they are alive and well and still a part of your life. This can come in many ways and could be signs of spirit from animal interaction, musical awareness, signs such as synchronistic events, smells and so much more.

When you recognize that it was your loved one, it also brings relief to the spirit who has gone home to longer feel that pull of your need to feel them –  they feel that they have proven their existence and so can now move to their next stage of learning. This does not mean they have left you, it just means they have moved onto the next phase of life and are no longer shackled to the earthly existence; they learn to feel you and commune with you on a different level, on a higher and clearer vibration.

Spirit moving on and developing does not mean you are abandoned

First edition (Burnside Rare Books)

When your spirit loved ones move on, they do not leave you. They have a higher spiritual awareness and are therefore pulled to continue their development and answer their call to service. There is a compelling need to serve in some capacity. In a trance communication noted in the book 30 Years Among the Dead, written in 1924 by Swedish-American psychiatrist and paranormal researcher Carl A. Wickland, MD, spirit clearly made it known they were serving in some way:

“I wish you could see how Uncle F. works in the dark earth sphere to help and to serve the unfortunate ones there, to prevent them from obsessing any one. He is so anxious to have everybody know the real truth on the other side, and it is a pity that so much dogma and creed are the stumbling blocks. The little time I have been gone I have learned so much.”

Many are called to service or are compelled to serve and to learn. Therefore, their vibrations change. As love is held upon that vibration, they are always connected to you through bonds of love. Those bonds will never be broken and the thought that is omitted is also that call on that love vibration.

The Fog of Grief

If you are grieving, you may be so deep in your grief that you fail to realize or recognize the signs that your loved ones are all around you. Imagine if you will, an impenetrable fog that you can’t see through. This is the epitome of your grief and your grieving. You can’t see the beauty of the spirit world because of that fog of grief. Your loved ones may be visiting you in your dream state, but can’t penetrate because of the heavy burden of your grief. They will be sending you signs in your everyday life, but because of your emotional state, your vibration emits a foggy shield that is akin to your ego protecting you in the material world but failing to open your spiritual eyes.

In your grief, you fail to see the blessings sent by your loved ones because you are so consumed with your loss and how it’s affecting you. This state of selfishness is not negative, it is just a part of learning about the grieving process. You should not feel bad about it because over time you will change and grow, and no longer be consumed by your loss and feeling abandoned; as you begin to emerge from the fog of grief, you will become more selfless and open to spirit.

Opening Your Spiritual Eyes

Spirit is Simple - Man Makes It Complicated

As a consequence of when that fog lifts, you begin to see the new land, like Columbus finally seeing the new world and you begin to look at things differently. You begin to notice that spirit is around you and never far from you. How is this achieved? Very simple:

~ Make a concerted effort to notice that which is beyond the material

~ Communicate with spirit on your own level

~ Speak from the heart

~ Become more mindful and engage with the here and now, rather than the past or future

~ Learn to meditate simply by connecting with yourself

The more you speak with your loved ones from your heart and not from a place of need, the easier that fog will lift and the sun will shine once more.

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

What Happens to Pets That Cross Over?

Grieving The Loss Of A Pet

Lately, I have had several clients and students ask me what happens when their beloved pets pass away. Are they alone? Do they feel pain? Do they come back to visit? My clients are comforted to learn that their pets are met by loved ones when they cross over, are out of any pain they suffered while they were in their physical bodies and frequently, they come through from Spirit to visit. Most of the readings I do with clients involve a pet, either owned by the client or their deceased loved one, being mentioned in the reading. 

Losing a pet can be as difficult as losing a loved one for some. As an avid animal lover who has had at least seven dogs, a couple of foster dogs, three cats, ferrets, hamsters, rabbits, chickens, hermit crabs and some wild life such as squirrels and birds, I understand how difficult it is. A part of my own psychic mediumship development has dealt with my experiences in losing pets. I still experienced the loss and grief but being able to mediumistically see, feel or hear my pets as they pass, and afterwards, brings a level of comfort I did not have before my abilities re-opened. With this in mind, I share these experiences in the hope that anyone who needs to go through the experience of losing a pet or has gone through it, that it will bring some comfort to know your pet is all right.

Losing beloved pets

I remember distinctly the hollow feeling I would have after losing a pet before my abilities opened up. When I had to put down one of my ferrets, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I stood there in the vet’s office with the body of my pet, whom I loved very much and just felt nothing, like he was gone forever. My furry little friend, Samson accompanied me through college. I lived in an apartment off campus so I was allowed to have a pet ferret whom I used to walk on a leash while receiving very funny looks from people. 

After my abilities began re-opening in 2004, I began to see, hear, feel and know the presence of Spirits. In that time, I have had to put down three pets due to terminal illness; my Sheltie, Duncan, my foster ‘hospice’ cat, Isis and my Bernese Mountain dog, Wizard. Each time I felt the grief of losing them, I understood that they were fine in Spirit form and with me, and that brought a level of comfort which was absent when I lost pets when my abilities were not open.

Duncan had been my 30th birthday gift from my Mom in 1997. By the time he reached about 13 years old, he was nearly blind, deaf, had what I referred to as doggie dementia along with severe kidney and heart disease. The last six months of his physical life, I basically waited for him to let me know when he was ready or for the day nature would take its course. He was prone to falling down the stairs, and had to be watched carefully, and on all kinds of medication for his various illnesses. On the day it came to pass, my Mom and Dad, both of whom were in Spirit, kept appearing to me holding a dog leash. The other animals in my home would not go near him and the cats were actually hissing at him. 

Duncan, Isis and Wizard

I went back and forth about the decision all day. Finally, I called the vet and the appointment was set. When the vet gave him the injection, I watched as my parents came through and I saw Duncan’s spirit leave his body and then appear with my parents. Seeing him clairvoyantly, I saw that had returned to his young, healthy, playful state and I was comforted to know he was with them, although still upset about losing him. It was rather emotional and as such I was questioning my own visions.  

My parents sent me a sign to reassure me, since I had been asking for them all day. As I opened the rear of the car for the vet to place him inside, the car radio turned on by itself and played a song (called Send Me a Song) even though I had not turned the car on, and it had never done that before nor again. On the ride home, I felt Duncan jump into my lap and lick my face and then saw him in his spirit form. He also kept watch over my living pets. When my new puppy, who I adopted after he passed away, was having surgery to repair his knee, as I prepared to send the puppy healing, in came Duncan in my third eye followed by my Bernese Mountain dog puppy, Wizard. I just giggled, somewhat with relief because Duncan was keeping watch over my new baby who was being held overnight for surgery.

The next pet I lost came shortly after Duncan’s passing in 2010. I had been providing what I called hospice care for this cat I had named Isis. I only had her a few months. She had been rescued by an animal rescue group from a kill shelter. She was probably about 15 years old, had virtually no teeth, was barely seven pounds and had severe arthritis in her back and hips. She had been placed in their hospital ward, fully matted and at that point, unable to walk. Around the same time, I had a strong impression that I needed to find a white cat and adopt her and she was the second cat I saw. They had just listed her as adoptable and wanted her out of the medical unit because it had cement floors which was not good for her arthritis, and she was being bullied by an unfriendly cat. They were injecting her with a medicine which enabled her to walk a bit but she needed to be able to walk and not be caged, and it was when she was out of the cage that the unfriendly cat would pounce on her. So I adopted her.

While I was driving I asked Spirit what her name was and a Spirit came through and said something but all I caught was the ‘ess’ part so I named her Isis. I fell in love with that cat and she promptly took over my bedroom, as her regal nature showed through. I had to hand feed her and of course give her injections. When it came time, I noticed she was not feeling very well. I called the vet to bring her in and opened the cat carrier case downstairs, intending to go up and carry her down since she had not come down the stairs for about two months. Before I had a chance to go up to get her, she came down the stairs on her own and jumped in. I just shrugged and said, “Oh, you are ready.”

Still hurting from losing Duncan, I was dreading that appointment. When I arrived, she laid limply on my chest but very regal again. I brought her in and the vet said that it was time based on her age and overall condition. As he injected her, we noticed she had evidence of internal bleeding and she passed much quicker than expected. I realized of course, she had been ready. As I sat there with her on my lap, I once again saw her Spirit leave her body and she jumped into the arms of an older female Spirit who I had never met, and who said to me, “Thank you for taking care of my cat, princess” and with that they vanished. Isis has, however, come back for visits and even blended with my big black cat who I thought always had a crush on her while she lived here.

Wizard Sighting!

(Image: Canva)

Lastly, there was my Bernese Mountain Dog, Wizard, who I lost last October. This one really hurt. He was only three and a half years old when he came down with cancer. This was the dog entered my life with a history of many medical problems. Despite efforts to surgically remove the cancer, it was the fast growing kind which had already spread before the tumor manifested and alerted us to a problem. With Wizard, I had to use a different vet’s office and was not allowed to be in the room with him when they gave him the injection, which also hurt. I was very close to Wizard, not only as a pet owner but energetically. I was what you would call energetically linked with him which I can do as an empath.

When he passed, I felt his Spirit leave his body. There was a gentle energetic movement rising up my body and out my crown chakra. During the experience, I was with my brother and he witnessed me take a gasp. I felt the energy and then clairvoyantly saw Wizard, free from his body and the pain of the cancer. As his owner, I was devastated in losing him, especially since he was so young. With Duncan, Isis and all my other pets, they had lived their full years of life so although it hurt to lose them, it was a little different with Wizard because he was only three an a half years. And, of course, following his death, I met a number of people who told me they had Bernese Mountain dogs who passed from cancer at ages as young as two years old. I felt that the people that showed up who experienced the same thing, was Spirit’s way of trying to comfort me.

Wizard would frequently visit me following his passing as I would post in Facebook, Wizard sighting! When I took my daughter’s Pomeranian to the groomer, the Pomeranian who is terrified of people would shake from the fear of being brought there. The Pomeranian was also best buds with Wizard when he was alive, and he showed up and walked in the door as we entered. Wizard was there to support his little doggie brother and it would bring a smile to my face to have him visit, despite my grief of losing him.

Comfort in knowing our pets who cross are still with us

So when clients ask me about what happens to their pets that they have lost, I share these stories as a way to bring them comfort. Frequently, their pets also come through readings. My Wizard even showed up at someone’s talk and mediumship demonstration I attended but unfortunately, I had to leave before the demonstration part to pick up my daughter. A friend was in attendance and delivered the message that a really big, black, multi-colored dog showed up which no one else could claim and he fit the description of my Wizard who was 107 lbs when he passed.

Even though we suffer from losing our pets, it brings comfort to know they are still with us and they themselves feel a lot better than they did when they were here. I did not understand this before my abilities opened as I mentioned in the beginning when I wrote about my ferret, Samson’s passing. Having experienced losing a pet both as an active empath / medium and a non-active person, being able to connect with them on a soul level brought me comfort even though I still felt the grief. I hope sharing these experiences brings some comfort to you or someone you  know who has lost a pet.

And on a positive note, I hope you felt a sense of comfort when you read about how my deceased dogs would come back to look after my new dogs, even ones that were not here when they were. I only mention that because some people have told me they feel guilty adopting another pet after one passes. My experience shows that our pets in Spirit not only continue loving us but love and look after our new furry friends who share our hearts and our lives. Always remember that your pet is just as much a deceased loved one as anyone close to you.

Notes:

This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has sinced joined the PDN group.

Header image source: Canva

The Forgotten Divine Power of Awareness

With the world in a state of seemingly endless turmoil, rather than jump into the new age fad of labeling this time as a great awakening, it is wiser to look at the lack of awareness related to how we arrived at this moment in time, and what we can do to move through it. The reality is, man has deceived man and tried to control the balance of human nature for his own gain. Now we are seeing divine law and karma in operation and although there are great lessons to be learned, many people are suffering needlessly.

Darkness Awakens!

There is a great saying that in times of darkness there is always a blessing but finding it is often easier said than done. No matter what we have come to expect or no matter how much knowledge one has amassed, the playing out of the action of that knowledge is often lost in nothing but theory without action.

I have lost count of the number of people who have reached out to me privately to express the upset, anguish, and anxiety they face on a daily basis. Anxiety at this time is at an all-time high and fear which brings forth that anxiety is eating away at many souls; then you have the added aspect of grief and its many faces, even without losing loved ones – we are all grieving the loss. We have lost parts of our identity and life as we perceived it and that loss can become the catalyst to inner turmoil and suffering.

A Call to Action

When this happened to the people of the world, I knew that people would need an outlet for their emotions and to express their grief and anxiety. I made an announcement in social media that I would be available on a private basis to help anyone who needed it, anyone who needed spiritual counsel, and the messages flooded in. Now, this was not for private sittings, nor to feed some need within myself and it cost nothing but time. It was to truly exemplify what Silver Birch meant when he said:

“The greatest gift you can give humanity is the gift of service.”

This was one small way that I could serve privately without pomp and circumstance.

As the messages came flooding in, one individual after another that needed comfort and spiritual counsel, poured out their souls. They were looking for some kind of direction, to understand – why? Now, I am not a person that holds all the answers but I like to be led by the divine power within, and of course, allow the great spirit to lead those who need words of comfort. But one thing that began to stand out to me was a pattern that emerged with almost everyone I spoke to - they had no true awareness and needed to understand themselves more at this time. So an awareness of that pattern was all they really needed to navigate these turbulent waters.

Photo Credit: John Hain, Pixabay

Without Awareness We are a Story Without a Book

Anything in life starts with awareness, for without awareness we do not truly live, as we have no real capacity to know time in the present and the experience of the present moment. Without awareness, we are an empty dream without a story. We are a story without a book and a book with no audience. Awareness is indeed the key to change, for with awareness we have the choice to unlock that door. Awareness is actually a divine power often forgotten.

Most individuals that I conversed with were only aware of what they were told or shown according to others’ perceptions. They were not aware of themselves and were merely following what it was that others perceived. The outcome, of course, was deeper entrenchment in the material realm and becoming further separated from the power of spirit or the divinity within.

The type of awareness that arose within themselves was the ego’s awareness and not that of the inner power of divinity within. Therefore, all the ugly emotions and aspects of past actions or grief from loss, all come to the surface. As a result, one begins to question truths and lay the blame squarely at the feet of divine power – while feelings of anger and abandonment surface.

I asked one individual if they prayed for help, and they confirmed they did. I then asked if they considered that their request for help was answered, and they said no. I asked if they felt abandoned and they said yes, by God and I replied, if you think you are abandoned and your prayer has not been answered, then who am I at this time? The gateway to moving through turbulent times is to trust in the power of the divine, and the answers will always come. But without awareness, they are lost.

Photo Credit: Jills, Pixabay

Acceptance & Forgiveness

When we do not accept things as they are, we cannot change them. It is with non-acceptance that we fight with a power external to oneself and give our power away to material power. By accepting things as they are, we have the power to move forward by placing faith in our inner power of divinity, and understanding that acceptance simply means to be at one with source of all things and supply of all things. We accept and therefore we are. We become the power that is latent within.

The other emotion or power (depending on how you see it) that many were missing was that of forgiveness. During a time of self isolation, all sorts of emotions such as guilt, fear and a disdain for oneself can come to the surface. In all but one conversation, the reality was that forgiveness was only a pattern of external action that had no real power for the self; it merely became glibly spoken words and thoughts with no pattern, to cause creation. The missing aspect was that we experience everything in life as an inner experience and none of them had forgiven themselves. Nothing is experienced outside of oneself and so to forgive on an external plane holds no power.

When these individuals realized that all of their desired changes could happen through learning the true power of internal forgiveness, everything changed – at that moment. By learning to forgive from within, you choose acceptance, you choose non-suffering and in that respect, you release that which is holding you prisoner. All the external elements of forgiveness of others are already done because they did not exist in the timeline where suffering exists. You are now beginning to recognize the power of love within you.

AAFT – Awareness, Acceptance, Forgiveness, Transformation

Transformation takes place when acceptance and forgiveness are brought into harmony, which, in turn, awakens one to the power of love without condition. No matter the changes to your circumstances, you find peace within the acceptance and forgiveness you exemplify. You then find that you are the power within the source and holding the power at that moment means that your external reality is merely what is created outside of you – and the power to change things lies within you. Every experience is within oneself and to become aware of the power within, allows you to bring harmony and peace to any situation you find yourself in.

You are the power, you have the power to accept and to change and to know love without condition.

To this day, I still respond to those in need and I use the same 4 steps to awaken change: AAFT – Awareness, Acceptance, Forgiveness, Transformation.

Photo Credit: PopcornSusanN, Pixabay

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined PDN publishing.

Image used in article header was sourced from Canva

Three Healing Steps to Greater Abundance

To attract and create more abundance into your life, you need to know that it’s an inside job. By that I mean it’s a transformation of consciousness because of subtle, yet profound shifts in one’s own perceptions.

A shift in perception can make all the difference in how we see and interact with the world in which we live. When we take the time to gently observe the areas of our life where we are currently limited and feel totally stuck, where we struggle or come up against resistance, then we can use my simple three-step healing process towards allowing in greater abundance.

The transformative power of love is the force that brings healing change to our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and actions. When our daily thoughts are dominantly aligned to fear, lack and limitation, then the transformative power of love is missing.

This is how we unwittingly separate ourselves from love – our true nature, and in doing so we subconsciously feel guilt and shame. We unintentionally block our creative energy from flowing outwards without restriction. Our heart energy creates unnecessary energetic blocks which are typically manifested as energy walls of resistance that prevent us from attracting and creating a greater good.

Abundance is a free-flowing energy that has no resistance when in perfect harmony with the energies of love, generosity, gratitude, kindness, compassion and all of the high-vibe attributes of Spirit.

Blocking the Abundance Flow

Image: John Hain, Pixabay

​The truth is that most people block their flow of abundance, which is simply an abundance of all of the good that the Universe has for them, such as – improved health, increased wealth, balanced and loving relationships, and true heart-centered romantic love. Not to mention our work or social life that is aligned with passion and purpose.

People block their flow of abundance in many different ways. Here are three main ways, in no particular order:

First Block: Ongoing Resentment

Deep-seated hurts create trauma energies. Our trauma memories continue to stir up the energetic resonance of the pain we still carry if we aren’t willing to clear it and let it go.

Resentment of others involved in our pain, or just plain old resentment of others simply because they have something we want, but don’t have, will cause energetic disarray within our heart energy center and hinder our ability to attract and create more abundance.

Second Block: Self-loathing

The second way in which a person blocks or interferes with the natural flow of abundance into their life is self-loathing.

If a person judges themselves as being less than another and continuously compares themselves to others in a negative and judgmental way, where the other person is observed as being so much better than, will once more block a person’s heart energy flow and create energetic walls of resistance that block the flow of good.

Third Block: Selfishness

The third block or interference with the natural flow of abundance is selfishness. In other words, an attitude of what’s in it for me? How am I benefiting? How can you or the world help me without me needing to give anything back?

When the energy behind a person’s intentions is selfishly based, they unwittingly create shifts in their energetic vibration that matches their selfish intent. When a person has needy or greedy energy, with little thought to helping or blessing others, or in adding light to the world in some way through their own creative expression, they hinder the free flow energy of abundance into their life.

My Three-Step Healing Process

Image: Jill Wellington, Pixabay

Use the following simple yet the powerfully transformative three-step process to help clear your energy and create subtle shifts in consciousness, that over time, can lead to profound and even miraculous changes. Shifts that help to align you with the greater good of the Universe and to open your heart energy to give and receive love and abundance.

Step One: Observe any time you have a fearful or limiting thought. A fearful thought can easily become a negative word spoken and then turn into a non-beneficial behavior or action. Creation begins with your thoughts.

Simply notice yourself when you are stuck in a negative or fearful thought and do so from a point of non-judgment. You are not to criticize yourself for having this negative thought pattern.

Step Two: Understand that your real nature is Love. God is Love and anything other than Love is therefore not real. In this sense, fear, lack and limitation do not originate from the Divine Mind of God, or Source, or Creator. They originate from the fearful collective consciousness of mankind.

You have a free will choice to live in separation by turning away from love, or by choosing to return to love and the energy source of your true-self. This step simply asks you to understand that your real nature is Love and that Love didn’t create these thoughts. This contemplation is life-changing.

Step Three: Clear the negative thought by sending it to the Light of Ultimate Truth. Simply say the following: “I send this (state exact fearful thought) to the Light of Ultimate Truth to be transmuted into Love. I willingly choose to return to Love. I allow the energy of abundance to flow to me and through me.”

These subtle shifts in perceptions will begin to take energetic root in your consciousness for transformative changes to take place in your health and life experience. However, this path of spiritual growth requires you to be consistent.

Photo: Gerhard Gellinger, Pixabay

Golden Key to Transformation

You have been given an easy yet amazingly powerful three-step process to help you but being consistent is the golden key to real change.

It means that you take the time and the conscious effort (a few seconds) so that every time that you become aware of being stuck in low-vibe patterns, such as feeling resentful, being judgmental of self, others and the world, and being self-centered in any way – you simply realize and understand that this does not originate from Love and therefore isn’t true for you.

Remember that the energy behind these negative patterns blocks all the good that Love and the Universe have in store for you. It makes perfect sense to incorporate this three-step healing practice into your daily life.

Blessings & joy,

Joanne Brocas

Healer, Intuitive and the #1 Bestselling Author of Angel Prayers. Visit Joanne’s website to find out more about her online healing classes, courses and personal appointments.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN family.

The Importance of ‘Evidence’ in Spirit Communication

A common question asked by many people who are new to the idea and practical reality of mediums being able to communicate with and relay evidence from people in spirit who previously lived on this Earth, is: “How can you really be sure that the communications and messages you receive through a medium are actually coming from a spirit person or a specific loved one or relative who has had a life in this world, and then died?”

The answer is always: “Through the actual accurate and ‘real’ evidence of Post-Mortem Survival which you obtain personally during a sitting with a Mental medium, or through a séance with a Physical medium or group using either the classic ectoplasmic-based or energy-based way of working.

‘EVIDENCE’ is the KEY to it all, just as during any court case, innocence or guilt is deemed to be ‘proved’ or ‘not proved’ by carefully and personally weighing up the evidence.

It is now almost 19 years since ‘The Scole Experiment’ finished in November 1998 but public interest in this unique experiment continues, and grows on a weekly basis. I am frequently being asked, “OK – so we have read about the amazing phenomena you obtained at Scole, but what about the ‘real’ evidence to show that an Afterlife exists? What did you receive during that time by way of actual proof?”

Well, I can definitely set everybody’s ideas straight on that score! Over the years at Scole and in other places we demonstrated the Scole Phenomena, we did receive – for ourselves personally, as well as for guests and visitors who shared our sessions – a massive plethora of messages, information, evidence and proof that life exists after we die. There is no doubt that Post-Mortem Survival is a FACT, for all of us.

When the ‘The Scole Experiment’ started in 1993, I was already a veteran of ‘Psychic Research’, with 20 years experience behind me, including over 250 private sittings with professional ‘Mental’ mediums, plus numerous Seances with Physical Mediums such as: Leslie Flint, Gordon Higginson; Stewart Alexander; Colin Fry; Geoffrey Jacobs; John Squires and several others (and that is not counting the many personal physical circles that Sandra and I had started and/or been involved in). I had received a real abundance of personal evidence myself which added up to absolute proof; so that I could state with all honesty – and well before the era of Scole – that the case for ‘survival’ had long since been ‘proved’ to me as far as I was concerned.

It would be pointless for me to simply write here that ‘Life After Death’ is a fact, without providing suitable ‘evidence’ to back up such a statement. Proof is a very personal thing, and each of us needs to research the pros and cons for ourselves before deciding on our personal verdict. That involves making our own effort to seek out personal evidence for ourselves. After all, whether we live on after our death or not is a very important issue for mankind! In my case, when people say to me, “After 44 years’ intimate involvement with Psychic Research, clearly you must now ‘believe’ in Life After Death”, I always say, “No – I do not believe in Life After Death, because I know it to be a fact!” There is a massive difference between belief and knowledge.

The Scole Experiment itself was something really special, and unique. If, by the time it started, I had received no personal evidence of Post-Mortem Survival, then it would have been impossible (after the 5 years of involvement at Scole) for me not to know for sure that for all of us, life goes on after we pass to Spirit. Our loving Spirit Team at Scole immediately recognized the need to provide personal ‘evidence’ of life after death for every member of the Scole Experimental Group. It was not just a need, but a vital requirement, in order to establish the necessary, total trust, partnership and cooperation between the Spirit Team and ourselves for the important pioneering work ahead.

Evidence from Spirit Team member Emily Bradshaw

Right from the start, the members of our Spirit Team at Scole made a great effort to bring us personal ‘evidence’ of survival from our loved ones in Spirit, but it was not until April 25th, 1994 that the ‘evidence’ started to flow in profusion. That was the day when a new member of the Spirit Team – Emily Bradshaw (a Victorian Lady) joined us, and stayed with us every time that we sat thereafter. To begin with, she was simply known to us as ‘Mrs. Bradshaw’ (a pseudonym, like most of the Spirit Team). Mrs Bradshaw (speaking through our medium ‘Diana’ who was in deep trance), introduced herself and appeared to be a very refined, but quite severe lady from the ‘upper classes’. In those early days, we would never have dreamed of calling her by her Christian name! She was simply Mrs. Bradshaw. Her speech was only in the best ‘Oxford English’; her diction clear and precise.

Emily seemed to have a dual function within the Spirit Team, in that she remained ‘in situ’ for most of each session – acting as a sort of ‘compere’ in that she joined all the threads of the team’s activities together; keeping us advised as to what was going on behind the scenes; predicting exactly what phenomena we could expect before it happened; issuing instructions and guidance to us wherever necessary. Her other vital function, was to provide real and personal ‘evidence’ for the Scole Group (in the beginning), which established the Spirit Team’s bona fides and two-way trust with us. In this, Emily was an amazing ‘expert’ in the quality of the ‘evidence’ we experienced from her. As we got to know Emily and her abilities intimately, we came to love and respect her to the point that she became – to us – almost a ‘surrogate mother’. It is true to say that although we came to love every member of the Spirit Team who worked with us at Scole, it is perhaps Emily that we have missed the most since the end of ‘The Scole Experiment’.

Sometimes little ‘throwaway remarks’ (given as amusing asides) from Emily to our group proved to be very accurate and verifiable, such as the time that the four of us sat together and Emily confided, “Did you know that Monty Keen wears red long johns?” Monty was one of the three SPR investigators who sat regularly with us in the Scole Group. The next time he and his two colleagues visited Scole, we mentioned this amusing remark of Emily’s to him. He thought it hilariously funny and – immediately – rolled up his trouser legs to confirm that Emily was indeed absolutely correct! Not even his colleagues had any inkling of the fact that Monty wore red long johns when he sat with us at Scole! Sometimes, our own inner thoughts (unknown to everybody else in the room) were fed back to us in an amusing way by Emily to show us just how much she was personally in touch with each of us.

Many pieces of evidence created a jigsaw puzzle of proof

I do not have the room here in this article to detail every small piece of the evidence we received during our sessions at Scole. However, every small instance was like a small piece of the jigsaw puzzle called ‘proof’ which, when added together, leeft us in absolutely no doubt whatsoever that life exists beyond death. During the very first sitting that Emily introduced herself to us (25th April 1994), she started to give us quite amazing ‘evidence’. Sandra was told that her grandparents ‘named Glynn’ were there on that occasion, as well as her first mother and father in law – Mr and Mrs Hutson. Emily went on to say that my mother was also present but was at that time, too emotional to speak. However, Emily correctly gave her name as ‘Constance’, and accurately stated that she had passed to Spirit eight years previously.

Through Emily, my mother was able to correctly communicate the fact that because of her long illness, she had been rather a burden on my father in her latter years. My father was, said Emily, also present at that session. She accurately named him as ‘Hubert Stevenson Foy’. He communicated the fact that he had passed to Spirit not long after my mother, in 1987 (most evidential). None of these facts were known to anyone else in the group apart from Sandra and me. Emily went on to remind me of (by giving me extremely accurate and intimate information unknown even to Sandra) concerning my dearest childhood memories of happy days spent in Scarborough with my grandparents. These were very special and emotional memories for me of wonderful times from the past.

The personal ‘evidence’ for all members of the Scole Experimental Group, as relayed in these messages by Emily Bradshaw continued to flow, week by week and month by month, so that (even just in itself) it presented a pretty strong case for the existence of an Afterlife! Little nuggets of information – unknown to all the other people present – were unbelievably accurate in their content. On May 9th, my mother was able to speak to me personally through the deep trance mediumship of Diana. We exchanged many memories, known only to ourselves (wonderful evidence!) such as her date of birth – March 30th 1915.

Through Emily on May 16th, my mother gave her correct maiden name as ‘Grimble’. My father, at the same session, confirmed his own date of birth as January 31st 1912, and my own place of birth as ‘Blackpool’. The deceased husband of one of the other group members passed her a message in similar fashion, through Emily, confirming his full name and date of passing. On May 23rd, via Emily, my parents were able to state accurately that they would have been married for 53 years then (had they both survived), having been married in March 1941 (this was extremely evidential).

The Case of Caroline Rochester

During our session on May 30th, Emily excelled herself by providing what became some of the most evidential information of survival received in the whole 5 years of the Scole Experiment. Bernette, one of our sitters, was asked by Emily if she was aware of a spirit presence in her home. Bernette lived in an old Post Office in the village of Stansted Mountfitchett, and had been involved in psychic matters for many years. She was herself very sensitive, and had indeed noticed a ‘presence’ in her home. In fact, on many occasions both she – and other members of her family – had seen heavy hanging copper pans and objects in her kitchen and in other places in the home apparently moving and swaying on their own (without being touched, or being influenced by any kind of breeze). So she was happy to tell Emily that indeed she was aware of this. Nobody else in our group knew anything about such a presence in her home. Emily told Bernette that the spirit person involved was called ‘Caroline Rochester’ and went on to say that this lady, with her brother, had lived in Bernette’s house about a hundred years previously. Since Caroline was present at our Scole session, Emily described her to Bernette as ‘having ringlets’. Bernette was told that Caroline apparently wished to become closer to Bernette – and to help Bernette with her healing work.

Needless to say, Bernette wanted to see if these facts could be substantiated, as none of her family knew anything about the history of their house. Bernette and her husband David spent much of the next week trying to track down local records, but they had great difficulty in finding any information at all locally, and had no success with their initial enquiries. Finally, whilst the Scole Group were sitting again the next week on June 6th, Bernette’s husband had gone to the County Records Office to try and see whether he could find out more about ‘Caroline Rochester’ and her brother. Whilst we were sitting, Emily spoke to Bernette and said, “By now, you will have the proof of the Rochesters who previously lived in your home”. We noted the time that Emily had given this message, but Bernette was not able to reach her husband by telephone immediately after our sitting, as he was still out.

The next day there were smiles all round. Bernette was able to confirm that her husband had been able to trace the Rochesters as the very first residents after the house had been built in the 19th Century. Furthermore, it transpired that her husband David had actually come across this information at the Records Office just moments before Emily had stated that, “Bernette would have had her proof by that time”. What an amazing piece of Evidence!

‘Evidence’ captured on film

On Friday 13th January 1995, we were well into our photographic experimental work with the Spirit Team. At this particular sitting, we had a real breakthrough with the photographic work. Before the session, we had placed a still shop-wrapped, unexposed, Black and White 35mm Polaroid Slide film on the central table. During the session, our evolved Spirit Team Communicator ‘Paxton’ (a member of the ‘Council of Communion’) spoke to us to tell us that the photographic experiment had been very successful. He predicted that we would see on the film ‘the likeness of someone well known to us who was a member of the Spirit Team’; ‘the signature of a Spirit person who was very interested in our work’, together with some writing in a foreign language, which we must make the effort to get translated.

Paxton’s statement in itself proved to be very evidential! Immediately after the sitting, we developed the Black and White 35mm Polaroid slide film in the special processing unit we had been given by Polaroid. There were two clear photographs of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who had already proved his presence to us as a permanent member of the Scole Spirit Team under the pseudonym of ‘Edwin’). On another frame of the film, there was a clear signature, which read ‘Ivor Novello’. It took us several weeks afterwards to get hold of a copy of Ivor Novello’s signature during his lifetime from an item of old sheet music but – guess what? The two signatures (from his lifetime and from the film at this session) were virtually identical. That evidence was quite special. There was also – as predicted by ‘Paxton’ – a clearly written verse in what was indeed a foreign language.

At our next session, we were told that this verse was written in ‘Romanised Sanscrit’, and came from the Sacred Book – The ‘Scrimad Bhagavatam’. We discovered this to be a very ancient book of Sacred Hindu texts, originally written in ordinary ‘Sanscrit’. About 35 years previously, it had been carefully translated into ‘Romanised Sanscrit’ for the first time by a Krishna devotee, and then published by the ‘International Society for Krishna Consciousness’ in that form, which is exactly how we received it on the film.

‘Paxton’ had asked us to get the verse translated but – at this point – we had no idea at all where we might find this book, or its more modern translation. However, a few weeks later, one of our Scole mediums, Diana, was walking around Norwich, bemoaning the fact that there was no longer a local library in the city to consult, since the beautiful new Norwich Library had burnt down not long before. At this point (clairvoyantly), Diana received the message to ‘get the book. “That’s all very well”, thought our medium, “but where can I find it?”. Immediately, the answer came back clairvoyantly: “Go to the Oxfam shop”. Diana did this. She was amazed and stunned to discover a single copy of just one of the 18 volumes of the ‘Scrimad Bhagavatam’ on the shelf. It just so happened that this was the VERY VOLUME out of the 18 volumes that we needed, and it contained a complete translation of the photographic verse we had received during our Scole sitting! Coincidence, or what?

The Sanscrit poem we received on film reads:

‘yad atra kriyate karma

bhagavat-paritosanum

jnanam yat tad adhinam hi

bhakti-yoga-samanvitam

The simple translation of this verse is as follows:

‘Whatever work is done here in this life for the satisfaction of the mission of the Lord, and what is called knowledge becomes a concomitant factor’.

Spirit Team member Kingsley Fairbridge

The final piece of evidence I want to deal with here (I would have to write another book to cover all the examples) is the saga of Kingsley Fairbridge. At a session on 10th March 1995, as part of one of our photographic experiments, we received a clear picture of an old-fashioned but good-looking young man on an unopened and unexposed 35mm Black and White Polaroid Slide Film. There was an amazing catalogue of evidence, consisting of several ‘coincidences’ that occurred afterwards which confirmed his identity.

We were told by our ‘Spirit Team’ that this gentleman was working with our group from Spirit, and that he had a big heart for helping others. His name was Kingsley Fairbridge and he had been born in South Africa. Educated at Oxford in England before moving to Australia, he set up the ‘Fairbridge Farm Schools’ for underprivileged children to teach them a trade. His health had not been robust, and he died young from cancer. We had never heard the name before, and made a great effort to try and trace some more details about this man. Regrettably, our efforts were initially unsuccessful and were unable to find out any more about him.

In frustration, we published the man’s name and details that we had been given, in one of the issues of our bulletin ‘The Spiritual Scientist’, asking subscribers to help us in providing any more information about this interesting person. One of our bulletin subscribers was a crop-spraying pilot in California, USA. He had a friend in Australia to whom he just happened to send his copy of ‘The Spiritual Scientist’ once he had read it. What a surprise it was for us to ultimately discover that the lady in Australia who had received his copy of the bulletin just happened to know the daughter of Kingsley Fairbridge, who was still living in Australia!

Kingsley Fairbridge’s daughter subsequently wrote to us and after we had sent her a copy of the photograph we received during our experimental session, together with the limited information we had about him, she was able to confirm that yes, that WAS a photograph of her father, and the information we had been given by our Spirit Team was 100% accurate and correct!

Editor’s Note: Robin Foy’s article The Importance of ‘Evidence’ in Spirit Communication was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by the Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN family.

Robin Foy passed away in April 10, 2022, aged 78. This fitting tribute article appeared in the Eastern Daily Press: https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/obituaries/20626912.obituary-man-behind-norfolks-life-after-death-experiment-dies-aged-78/

Book Recommendation: Witnessing the Impossible by Robin Foy

Atrribution: Image of Arthur Conan Doyle in the header was sourced from Canva

I Don’t Believe In Life After Death

Ok, so it may shock you a little to hear a medium say that they don’t believe in life after death and the reason that I don’t believe is because I know there is life after death. You see, to believe in something implies following a pattern of someone else’s perception, but to know is divine.

In our society there are many perceptions and often when we grieve, the question of, “Is there life after death?” or “Where do they go when they die?” is often the mainstay of someone’s thought process, or a thought that occupies every second of every day. There’s an inherent fear that suffocates you and that is, “What if there’s nothing, what if my loved ones are gone and that’s it?” The very thought that you will not see or feel your loved ones again is unthinkable, a spiraling unending pain that is often too hard to face and deal with. The very point of life seems wasted and so we stop valuing ourselves. We retreat into our shells because that’s the place where we feel safe and, of course, no one really understands our grief. We believe that our grief will always exist, but in reality that is not the case.

Impermanence and Life After Death

There is a philosophy in Buddhism that suggests that life and everything within life is interconnected and at the same time – impermanent, meaning that everything is a conditioned existence, transient and in constant change. In reflection, this can also help us to understand that grief is also impermanent and will not always exist in its current form, but will of course change in continuous motion. This Buddhist perception is also called Anicca or Anitya, which is ancient sanskrit and asserts the idea of transience.

It is a fact that when we grieve, our emotions are in a state of transience, always changing and moving from one state to the other. No-one can say how long or how fast you should move through these states of being and how you should react. Nevertheless, understanding and having an awareness of the impermanence of grief can actually help you to understand how to move through it and how you can begin to experience a new energy that will allow you to reach into the state of harmony between yourself, your grief and your loved ones. It is time to learn the language of the soul.

Language Of The Soul

Soul Flight

You have language, you understand your language in your current form but you have forgotten your true language. This is the language of the soul, the reality of your existence and part of the divine essence that is you and animates you and has brought you into being by natural spiritual law. So how does this have anything to do with grief? The answer is very simple. Learning the language of the soul will help you not only move through the grieving process faster, but also help you touch the void of the spirit to cross the bridge between the material and the spiritual and meet your loved ones on the other side of life.

So this language is not one that anyone can teach you. It is already within you and is as simple as awakening to the spirit within. We have all heard of those signs that are around you that help you to understand or recognize the connection of your loved ones such as:

• Animal signs
• Dreams
• Smells
• Energy
• Music
• Synchronicities
• Visual Awareness
• Auditory Awareness

Of course, there is much more, but that’s a start. The truth is that in order to change anything in life, one must have an awareness. However, that awareness is only scratching the surface between the physical and the spiritual. One must learn to become aware of the awareness and though that may sound rather strange, it is easier to understand it from recognition of the divine authority and power that you hold. Becoming aware of the awareness is going beyond your breathing, which is actually one of the best techniques to learn how to deal with grief and connect with your loved ones – learn how to breathe.

There is a subtle change that happens when we awaken this awareness and one begins to find that knowing the reality of spirit and divinity becomes very real. You begin to notice those subtle nuances that are manifested from the world of spirit and in that recognition you get one stage further in becoming even more aware of spirit and the power you hold.

Breakthrough In Knowing

At this juncture, you have taken a massive leap forward and experienced that spiritual breakthrough and awakening of the soul. The signs that you now experience and the interconnectedness between you and spirit means that you now know the reality of life after death. How communication and language of your divine being is a right and a divine truth – even a purpose. You now do not believe in life after death, you know there is life after death because you understand the language of the soul.