Rosco..Jones
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Afterlife - A Tale of Two Grannies
I recently read some postings by people who's world views would not allow the possibility of an afterlife. So here's a personal story to share with you.
My one Gram, Vera [dad] and I never got to know each other well. We lived far apart and had a falling out of sorts when I was young. She passed away when I was in my teens. I never had the chance to resolve the distance between us. Anyway, while living near Buffalo [70's], I spent some time researching "mediums". One, working out of her apartment in Niagara Falls, appeared to be no more than random guesses & charged $30. Another, well known & worked with law enforcement, was better. However, overall things were still pretty vague and the charge was $45.
I then visited Lilydale in south western NYState. http://www.lilydaleassembly.com
Lilydale is the headquarters of the Spiritualist Religion [mediums] in North America. I had a one hour reading with a fellow named Clyde Yoder, who was in his 80s. Clyde explained that I was to sit, be quiet and listen to what he had to say. [No feedback to assist with guesswork] The reading was broken up into different sections. Things said were right on and very exact.
One portion of the reading dealt with communication from anyone that had "passed to the other side". He said he felt the presence of possibly a Grandmother. "She sends you a bouquet of yellow roses". That was all of the communication. Clyde accepted donations for his readings, but would only talke $5 max.
When I got home, I searched through some books that used to belong to my Gran Vera. In a book on symbology, I found that a single yellow rose symbolized "understanding". Hmm.. I guess that fit with her feeling bad our never really resolving the issue of which I spoke earlier.
Two weeks later I again found myself looking through one of her books. A scrap piece of paper fell out. Upon it Vera had written the names of my immediate family. Beside each name was one word for what she wanted for each of us. Beside my name was written, "understanding'.
One of my life's interests is probabilities & statistics (retired statician). When I read that, I pondered the chances of this series of events being just a coincidence. I decided that more than random chance was involved. I also took this as a confermation of an afterlife reality.
I did make a return trip to Clyde in Lilydale. I had another great one hour reading. This time Clyde would not accept any donation, as I had been there only a few weeks earlier. Spiritualism is their religion. Money was not the reason they did this. To me, that makes my experience much more beliveable.
My other Gram, Isabell [mom], died in the hospital at the age of 97. My cousin Lester and his dog were watching her house at the time. At the time she passed, all the clocks in the house stopped, the hair on his dog's back stood up and he waited out of the house immediately. He was last seen hi tailing it towards home. Over the next couple of weeks, things were noticed being moved. These were mostly photos on display and a key hidden over the front door.
Then one day while Lester was at the house, he noticed an elderly woman walking down the sidewalk. She stopped in front of the house and appeared to be confused. Lester went out to see if she was OK. He ended up bringing her inside to the front porch and had her sit in a rocking chair.
While he was getting her a glass of water, my aunt showed up. When she entered and saw the women sitting in Isabell's rocker she almost fainted. You see, the woman was wearing one of Isabell's dresses.
When Isabell had passed, my aunt donated al her clothes to a local home for the elderly on the other side of town. This woman had received several of Gram's dresses. On this particular day, she went for a walk. The walk ended up being several miles and ended in front of my Gram's house.
Again, the probability of these events being purely random chance is almost nil. There are other items in my past such as once having a house ghost and visits from my wife after she passed. As a result, I have reason to include the non-physical existence of our consciosness/soul as part of my model of reality.
I recently read some postings by people who's world views would not allow the possibility of an afterlife. So here's a personal story to share with you.
My one Gram, Vera [dad] and I never got to know each other well. We lived far apart and had a falling out of sorts when I was young. She passed away when I was in my teens. I never had the chance to resolve the distance between us. Anyway, while living near Buffalo [70's], I spent some time researching "mediums". One, working out of her apartment in Niagara Falls, appeared to be no more than random guesses & charged $30. Another, well known & worked with law enforcement, was better. However, overall things were still pretty vague and the charge was $45.
I then visited Lilydale in south western NYState. http://www.lilydaleassembly.com
Lilydale is the headquarters of the Spiritualist Religion [mediums] in North America. I had a one hour reading with a fellow named Clyde Yoder, who was in his 80s. Clyde explained that I was to sit, be quiet and listen to what he had to say. [No feedback to assist with guesswork] The reading was broken up into different sections. Things said were right on and very exact.
One portion of the reading dealt with communication from anyone that had "passed to the other side". He said he felt the presence of possibly a Grandmother. "She sends you a bouquet of yellow roses". That was all of the communication. Clyde accepted donations for his readings, but would only talke $5 max.
When I got home, I searched through some books that used to belong to my Gran Vera. In a book on symbology, I found that a single yellow rose symbolized "understanding". Hmm.. I guess that fit with her feeling bad our never really resolving the issue of which I spoke earlier.
Two weeks later I again found myself looking through one of her books. A scrap piece of paper fell out. Upon it Vera had written the names of my immediate family. Beside each name was one word for what she wanted for each of us. Beside my name was written, "understanding'.
One of my life's interests is probabilities & statistics (retired statician). When I read that, I pondered the chances of this series of events being just a coincidence. I decided that more than random chance was involved. I also took this as a confermation of an afterlife reality.
I did make a return trip to Clyde in Lilydale. I had another great one hour reading. This time Clyde would not accept any donation, as I had been there only a few weeks earlier. Spiritualism is their religion. Money was not the reason they did this. To me, that makes my experience much more beliveable.
My other Gram, Isabell [mom], died in the hospital at the age of 97. My cousin Lester and his dog were watching her house at the time. At the time she passed, all the clocks in the house stopped, the hair on his dog's back stood up and he waited out of the house immediately. He was last seen hi tailing it towards home. Over the next couple of weeks, things were noticed being moved. These were mostly photos on display and a key hidden over the front door.
Then one day while Lester was at the house, he noticed an elderly woman walking down the sidewalk. She stopped in front of the house and appeared to be confused. Lester went out to see if she was OK. He ended up bringing her inside to the front porch and had her sit in a rocking chair.
While he was getting her a glass of water, my aunt showed up. When she entered and saw the women sitting in Isabell's rocker she almost fainted. You see, the woman was wearing one of Isabell's dresses.
When Isabell had passed, my aunt donated al her clothes to a local home for the elderly on the other side of town. This woman had received several of Gram's dresses. On this particular day, she went for a walk. The walk ended up being several miles and ended in front of my Gram's house.
Again, the probability of these events being purely random chance is almost nil. There are other items in my past such as once having a house ghost and visits from my wife after she passed. As a result, I have reason to include the non-physical existence of our consciosness/soul as part of my model of reality.