Inquiring Minds ...

On Thursday, April 16, 2015, I was invited by Dr. Gary E. Schwartz to share the story I wrote about in my book, Wolf’s Message, with his Psychology of Religion and Spirituality class at the University of Arizona.  I thank Dr. Schwartz for this opportunity and for sending me a copy of the comments each of the students wrote after the presentation.  These comments were submitted to me completely anonymously.  Some of the observations merited feedback, which I included with my answers to those who asked questions.  I feel the information may be useful to readers of this blog and I share them with you here.    

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My only question is, if you receive messages from the other side, has your husband experienced this?

He has not.

I am still quite skeptical about the story about the book that moved …

I want to be clear that I am well aware that my experience of seeing and hearing the book move (as detailed in "Wolf's Message")was an illusion/hallucination.  Had anyone been standing beside me, they would not have seen or heard the book move as I did.  Nevertheless, the experience was very real to me—as real as everything else happening around me at the time. 

We look at the “reality” that most people experience as “this physical/human world” and call that “reality”, because it is the most common experience to all humans, but reality is relative.  Because each individual’s perception creates their reality, no one can rightfully dictate to another person what is real. 

One of the critical learning points from my presentation is that the reality we perceive with our physical senses is not the only reality.  We can all agree that the laws of our physical universe are suspended when we are in the dream state.  While dreaming we can defy gravity and fly.  We can play with time, and so forth.  Does this make our dreams any less “real” while dreaming them?  Reality is what we are experiencing with our consciousness at any given moment. 

I believe that my perception of the book moving was caused by a manipulation of the auditory and visual signals sent to my conscious mind by higher consciousness to make a point:  “Pay attention to this book.  There is an important message in this book.”  And indeed there was.  Had the book not appeared to move through my very real experience of this hallucination, I would never have chosen to read that particular book.  This intervention from higher consciousness served an important purpose.

Do you ever get messages from a higher power, or as I call him, God?

Before answering this question, I need to share my concept of God.  I do not believe that God is one single being who can communicate directly, but is instead the All That Is … formless and formed, transcendent and immanent, eternal and temporal, absolute and relative, impersonal and personal.  I call this force, this energy, this ground of all being beyond which there is nothing more and which has no opposite “Ultimacy” – a term coined by my friend, retired professor James E. Royster. 

Ultimacy expresses itself in limitless ways, including as you and me.  Ultimacy expresses itself also as what to us are formless aspects of consciousness which we might refer to as spirit-beings and angels.  The more loving the being, the more refined the consciousness, making these more refined, formless aspects of consciousness what we would call “higher beings.” 

With that understanding, yes, I most definitely get messages from a higher power.  You may read over a thousand of these messages at www.SanayaSays.com and read full transcripts of more lengthy messages at http://www.suzannegiesemann.com/sanayasessions/ 

Was it difficult to accept that you were getting all these signs about spirits because of your background?

Yes, but only when I first became aware of the connection with higher consciousness beyond those whom I could identify as deceased family members and friends (in other words, angels).  I was resistant to change my belief system.  Once I realized that the signs were accompanied by verifiable evidence or “No Other Explanation” synchronicities, I became an open-minded skeptic rather than a close-minded skeptic.  Now I am open to almost any experience at first.  I play with new concepts and ideas, test them as to how they intuitively feel to me, and then decide whether to make them part of my belief system or not.  The decision is based upon whether it will help or hinder my soul’s growth and whether or not it will serve the greater good.

If we do not stretch and grow, we stagnate.  We are here for the experiences that lead to our soul’s growth.  This requires being open-minded and willing to change. 

Today showed me that mediums can be everyday people. I've often looked upon them as nut jobs, but today showed me that what they do doesn't always have to be driven by some personal goal.

Thank you for this vote of confidence! 

This presentation made things more confusing for me to be honest. It is so outrageous and yet it makes sense. I think I need to experience it in order to believe it wholeheartedly. And where does God fit into her readings or beliefs?

You are correct:  the best way to learn is through personal experience.  The best way to have personal experiences of the Greater Reality is through the regular practice of meditation with the clear intention of getting to know the world beyond the physical senses. 

As to where God fits into my beliefs, see the previous discussion about God/Ultimacy.  I believe that Ultimacy has love as its essence.  As my guides, Sanaya, shared with me in meditation after I asked how a force that some refer to as “Infinite Intelligence” can be personal:

That particle of Infinite Intelligence that became you at conception was God expressing Itself as you.  The fact that it wanted to express itself as you at all came from pure love.  Everything that lives was born of that spark of love.  Think of the beauty of a flower, of the stars, the mountains … how could they have anything but Love as their source?  You began as an impulse of Love.  It is Love that sustains you.  Love is the most important force there is.  You exist to grow in the realization of Love and in your expression of Love, because you ARE Love.  When expressed, when felt, there is nothing higher, nothing more divine, nothing more sacred, nothing more healing, nothing more binding, nothing more noble … nothing more Godlike. 

As to where God fits into my readings, I do this work in Service to the All, God, Ultimacy.  I do it for and from Love.

I am surprised that Wolf had a specific message that wasn't for his parents but for everyone who will listen to it.

I am not surprised that he did.  The energy I felt from Wolf’s soul was one of a much higher being than most who have recently passed from their experience in human form.  He is what we would call “an old soul.”  Those with a more refined consciousness have more of a focus on the greater good/service to all. 

Do you ever receive the energies from someone on the other side that is pushing forward wanting to communicate when you are not prepared or accepting it at this time?

Yes, this happens occasionally, and I welcome the experience each time.  I consider it an honor to be the conduit for information that is important enough for those on the other side to use me in this way.   

I wonder what her ideas on religion are?

I believe that religions serve a purpose in providing a sense of community and a way of celebrating our existence with others.  However, I do not believe that any one religion can and has captured absolute Truth.  I believe it is beneficial for each person to think for him or herself instead of being told what to believe by any one person or group.  Our beliefs change as we grow spiritually, and it behooves us to not box ourselves in by one set of beliefs. 

You said one highly specific comment that really touched me. You said, "You are more than human". Recently, I was struggling with some feelings of resentment that made me feel human. I have been fighting to be more than that. I mentioned these struggles to a friend right before this presentation who said, "It is alright to feel these things, you are only human". I felt that the message was wrong and hearing you comment on this was amazing. So, thank you.

You’re welcome!  I would caution you, however, against labeling your friend’s comment as “wrong.”  “Right and wrong” are judgments based on each person’s perspective.  Your friend may believe YOU are wrong.  “Either/or” thinking is part of your human side. 

Knowing that you are indeed “more than human,” at any time you can shift your focus to “soul vision,” which perceives not as “either/or” but as “both/and.”  Labeling things as right or wrong only leads to frustration and other lower vibratory feelings.  How about simply seeing your thoughts and your friend’s thoughts as perceptions from different perspectives and say:  “Isn’t that interesting!”  This “soul perspective” is far more peaceful.   

What made Wolf different from other spirits you have communicated with?  Have you ever had amazing synchronicities with other spirits you've communicated with?   

Wolf’s energy was very high relative to most souls who have recently been in physical form.  His energy left me stuttering and shaking throughout the reading.  The clarity of the connection was excellent.  The unusual nature of the details about his life that he was able to get through made his reading stand out.        

I have had a few interesting synchronicities with other spirits, but none that compared with Wolf’s.

I'm being trained to detect mental illnesses as a psychologist. Are we always wrong when we say someone is mentally ill? Or are they just another Wolf trying to teach us?

I can’t answer this, as I am not trained in the mental health field.  I do believe that Wolf’s explanation for not being able to shut off his awareness of the non-physical world (“It was very busy in here,” he said, pointing at his head) is worth keeping in mind for mental health professionals.

What is normal?  Is “normal” simply what serves as the baseline for human behavior?  If someone perceives things outside of those norms, is that then a mental illness?  Am I mentally ill because I communicate with aspects of higher consciousness that most humans cannot perceive?  If this causes a problem for me in functioning and in dealing with others, then that might be considered a mental “illness.”  If it leads to bringing more love and peace to others, what do we call it then?

How can I hone in on these skills to connect with the spirit world?

Meditate, meditate, meditate.  Be the presence of Love in all that you do, thereby raising your consciousness/your personal frequency so as to be closer in frequency with those beings at a more refined level of vibration.  Set the intention of being able to attune to higher levels of consciousness and having experiences beyond normal human/waking awareness.  That’s the start.  The rest would fill volumes. 

This is truly amazing. My head hurts thinking about this.

Welcome to my world.  My advice:  Don’t think so much and feel your way into a new way of believing through your heart … the seat of the soul. 

I was born in a very religious family, and I was taught that things beyond this world aren't possible, but after taking this class and watching her presentation it is becoming harder for me to believe that.

We don’t have to believe things just because we were taught them by others.  Seek the personal experience of Truth.  If that is not possible, test all theories with your heart and gut, not just with your head. 

I honestly cannot believe this level of intense communication. I still think that there should be a way to prove this by scientific observation, as in a legitimate view of how this happens where you can actually physically see it.

I would not have believed it either a few years ago, but the personal experience and the quantity of detailed, verifiable evidence received in an expanded state of consciousness has moved me from faith to knowing.  I do not try to convince anyone of anything.  I allow the evidence to speak for itself, as it did during the reading I gave for one of your classmates prior to the lecture.  I believe the words he used were that he was “blown away” … strong words for a university professor.  I did not do that.  The evidence did. 

Now ask yourself why you cannot believe.  Why the resistance?  Belief is a choice.  You can choose to stubbornly disbelieve, or you can choose to be open-minded until you have the personal experience, either as a medium or as a sitter, or through some other spiritually transformative experience.  When the time is right on your spiritual journey, you will have an experience that will be just right for you.

As to the second part of your comment regarding physically seeing proof, we are not dealing with the physical world.  The non-physical world operates under a different rule-set than ours.  By insisting that things operate under our rules and that they respond to our physical world tests, you are not recognizing and working within the paradox.

Did you have any synchronicities, thoughts, or messages before coming to our class? Share some!

No, sorry.  I was too busy preparing for Dr. Schwartz’ research reading and my presentation later that evening.  When my focus is so fixedly on the physical world, it is hard for those in spirit to get through to me.

Why does she think that only after experiencing a major loss she was able to get these messages?  This seems to be a pattern with a lot of mediums that we've talked about this semester.  They have experienced some situation with death and then their gifts came to them. 

Prior to my step-daughter’s death, I was solely focused on my life in physical form and my military career.  Because of this strict focus, I did not have any spiritually transformative experiences.  After Susan’s death, my priorities changed.  I wanted to learn more about the possible existence of a greater reality, so I began reading spiritual and metaphysical books (beginning with Dr. Schwartz’ The Afterlife Experiments) and meditating daily.  This shift in focus resulted in my personal transformation.  The rest is history (as chronicled in my memoir, Messages of Hope). 

It is a nice story. But she could be less dramatic during her medium reading (I played a 7 minute video that included excerpts of the actual reading for Wolf’s father and step-mother).

Oh, God bless you, my friend.  Your comment made me laugh at how differently we can perceive things.  You may call that “drama,” but I call it “joy” and “awe.”  To sit with eyes closed, to feel, see, and hear things from someone who has died, and have these things validated by a spirit’s family is truly AWEsome.  To show that spirit-being’s loved ones that their consciousness has survived death brings great JOY. 

Perhaps these days it is “cool” to act bored, uninterested, or nonchalant, but I find life to be one great miracle, to be celebrated each moment with overt enthusiasm.  May I never become blasé’ about talking to the spirits of deceased people.  What you heard in that recording of actual communication with higher consciousness was not drama.  It was a clear reflection of how I feel and who I am.

I was raised with no formal religion and have not read much of the Bible, but since you are studying the psychology of religion and spirituality, there could be no more appropriate quote to add to this discussion than Matthew 18:3 - And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Many blessings to you all on your journey.