Spirit Writers

In 1978, the British actor Anthony Andrew was between jobs. One day, he was sitting around his apartment when a thought came to him for a TV show. It was about a bomb disposal squad operating in London during the Blitz of World War II. The idea came to him fully formed. He could see the drama, the rare moments of humor and a love story. He was so excited about the idea that he spent the next two days writing a pitch letter to sell it to the BBC. And then he got a phone call from an old friend, John Hawkesworth—Director/Producer for the BBC. John had exciting news. He had suddenly had an idea for a TV show about a bomb disposal squad in London during the blitz. He had sold the BBC on the idea and wanted Anthony to star in it. Coincidence?

 

Maybe it was coincidence, but I suspect that a spirit on the other side had an idea and found to receptive minds. I’ve had experience with such an event. A few years ago I had a spirit come to me with the idea for a novel about an Asgardian (Viking) God and his—semi-serious, semi-humorous—adventures in modern times. I worked with the spirit and wrote the book in a few weeks. Then came the editing as we discussed what needed to be done, rewriting, re-editing and more rewriting. In the end, we had written the first book in the Adventures of Borr series. But that was just the start. Yes, there would be more books in his series (I’ve only published the first one so far) but I had opened myself up to something big.

 

A second spirit came to me with the idea of a magical world that follows the adventures of a sorcerer who hunts down and stops people who use magic for evil. It was the first book of the Malcolm Sinclair, Dark Magic Hunter series (books one and two are published). I soon realized that there were other spirits clamoring for my attention and wanting to write books. Just because someone dies it doesn’t mean that his/her creativity stops. There are people on the other side who still create stories, music, and art, and some of them want to share it with us here. I’m thrilled that I can be a channel for their imagination and have to admit that I love the stories and as I write them down can’t wait to see what will happen next.

A Recent Reading

I recently gave a reading to a woman who had lost her husband a bit over a year ago. It was their anniversary, and she wanted to talk to him. I can’t always guarantee who will come through, but he was a strong spirit which had already come through several times, and he came through loud and clear the second that I started the reading.

The first thing that he did was send her flowers, but it was odd. I’ve had lots of spirits send people flowers, but it’s always a particular flower like roses or carnations. He didn’t. The image of the flowers kept shifting so fast that I could not determine what they were. Finally, I told her what I was seeing. “Yes,” she said, “he always gave me flowers. He bought whatever he could find, and they were always different.”

This is what is known as a proof message. There was no way I could know such a detail about their life and so from that moment onward she had no doubt that it was her husband. She also knew with absolute certainty that it was really him when his next message was, “I love you so much.” This is why I give readings. Why I work every day to improve my gifts. I want to help people make those connections, receive the answers that they need, and find the peace that they seek.

Living in the Aura Body

Last time I wrote about the etheric body and the etheric realm. Now I want to look into the aura realm of existence.

The aura realm is the polar opposite of the physical realm. Where the physical realm has three physical dimensions (height, depth and width) and one temporal (time) dimension, the aura realm has three temporal and one physical. This means that everything there exists in the past, present and future all at the same time. If you think that spirits from the aura realm difficult to work with, you’d be right.

Aura realm spirits have no concept of time. Everything has happened, is happening and will happen all at the same time. It is impossible to get into a discussion with them about when some event is going to occur. Plus, the energy that they broadcast exists within all time dimensions and that makes them very hard to comprehend.

For example, we are used to dealing with someone and feeling the person become angry, express their anger and then calm down. Aura realm spirits don’t go through such progressions in their feelings. If they get angry, then what you sense is their getting angry, expressing it and letting it go all happening at the same time. Our minds have a lot of trouble trying to understand what they are feeling because, to us, it’s such a confused jumble.

Even worse is the fact that aura spirits exist in only one physical dimension. This means that they will have height, width or depth. Our brains are created to perceive all three physical dimensions. Trying to comprehend something that has just one can make you think you are going crazy.

The first time I encountered such a spirit I was five years old. I could already sense spirits all around me and understood what they were, but this spirit made me feel uncomfortable. It wasn’t because he was a bad person. It was because my brain couldn’t focus on any one part of him. He felt soft as a marshmallow and as hard as steel. He was as comfortable as a soft blanket and as cutting as a razor blade. He smelled sweet and putrid. He sounded like gentle music and bombs exploding. All of these opposing sensory inputs hit me all at the same time and my mind couldn’t handle it. Fortunately, he left as quickly as he came but in the brief time (which felt like seconds and days) he made a big impression on me.

I am a curious person. So, I began to meditate and study. He came back, and I could handle his presence for longer and longer periods until today I can hold long, detailed conversations with spirits from the aura realm.

Now, as you can imagine life in the aura realm is very different from here. Their senses work in ways that are impossible to explain. They sense things always happening. Nothing is ever over because they exist in all time frames. So where we would be aware of a conversation, say, as a past event to them it is always happening.

The way that they interact is very different. There are people here who never forget anything that you’ve ever done. (And have you noticed that it’s usually the bad things that you did to them that they remember the clearest?) There are also people here who can sense what you’re going to do in the future. But aura realm spirits live amongst all of it all the time. How can you talk to someone about things that they did in the past when it is still happening?

Somehow they are able to work, play and continue to grow spiritually. Even though I’ve spent years communicating with them I still haven’t a clue how they do it. After all, if there is no linear progression how do you grow? But grow they do, and they interact.

One thing that doesn’t change is that people are people. Just because we shed one body (like our physical or etheric bodies) that doesn’t mean that we stop being us. We will have the same emotions, the same level of spiritual understanding and the same coping methods. So, if someone is willing to accept abuse here they will still be open to it in the etheric and aura realms. (Some people see this as a depressing thought while I see it as reason to change now.) Even though the way that they interact may go through radical changes, people living on the aura realm still laugh, argue, agree and make each other happy. People learn to handle situations better. And they discover spiritual truths. In other words, life goes on.

At least for a time it does. Even life in the aura realm is not forever. A time will come when the soul is ready to reincarnate back to the physical realm. How long will it take to reach this point? It is almost impossible to answer that question. Spirits in the aura realm live in all time frames so questions such as “how long” are meaningless. I do know for a fact that the day will come and the soul will seek to return here, and that’s one of the reasons why the aura realm is so different.

If you were to reincarnate as soon as your physical form dies (which is possible but very rare), then you will still be carrying with you all your memories of your past physical incarnation. That could be confusing at the least and horrible at the most. What if you died in a very painful, horrific way? Would you really want to start a new incarnation with that memory? What if you were executed for committing hideous acts? Would you want to be a baby carrying memories of such terrible acts with you?

The system is set up to insure that you truly get a fresh start. First you live for a time in the etheric realm. Life there is somewhat similar to the physical realm but different enough to help you let go of material needs. Then you transition to the aura realm where conditions are so completely different that you shed your memories of your physical life and just carry forward the results of the lessons learned in the other two realms. So, when you are ready to reincarnate you no longer have memories of your past physical incarnations, and the memories that you do have, aura memories, are incompatible to a physical brain and quickly forgotten as you go through the nine months of gestation. When born, you are a “clean slate” ready to develop a new personality that fits your current circumstances. Of course, you’re carrying with you all the spiritual growth that you have attained through numerous lives in the physical, etheric and aura realms but without the “baggage” that comes with it.

In all its forms, life goes on.

Joseph Mauriello © 2013

 

 

Transitioning to the Other Side

Some years ago, I was honored to be present when a friend of mine passed away. I was at the hospital with his family, all of us sitting around his bed and sending him our love. I watched as slowly, gently his spirit seperated from his physical body. It was a beautiful moment as I watched his family on the other side surround him and welcome him. It was also a moment that confirmed something I had always intellectually known.

At this moment, you have three bodies. You have a physical body, an etheric body and an aura body. Your spirit is connected to each body. Each body is fully functioning and interacts with all others around you. When you die what happens is that you disconnect your spirit from your physical body. However, life goes on.

Yes, you leave behind your physical body, but you are still in your etheric and aura bodies. There is no transition time. Any disorientation that anyone reports from the other side actually occurred because they took time to get used to functioning without their physical body.

However, the etheric body has many aspects that are very similar to the physical form. Psychic-Mediums who can clearly see spirits, such as myself, report that people come back displaying a form that is very much like their physical bodies had looked. So, getting used to the other side is fairly easy because there will be so many similarities to the physical plane of existence.

In fact, this explains ghosts. A ghost is someone who refuses to accept the fact that he has died. Many people have asked how this is possible since the person no longer has a body. However, the person has an etheric body that is similar to their physical body. Plus, many spirits report that they had no sensation of transition. It was more like, one second they were in a physical body and the next they were in their etheric one. Of course, this is because they don’t leave one and enter the other but they leave the physical form and continue to live in their etheric body, which they’ve been doing all their life whether they were aware of it or not. So, a ghost may never notice that any kind of transition happened. To the ghost, nothing changed.

By the way, here’s an interesting fact. Spirits can see you easier than you can see them. The reason for this is that they naturally use their etheric senses to perceive your etheric body while you have to train to become aware of the information that is flowing into your etheric senses.

However, this transition to the etheric body is only part of the story. We also have an aura body. Why do we need that unless there will come a need for it?

At some point, your etheric body will cease to function—it dies. It is harder to determine when this will happen. The etheric doesn’t get sick or injured like the physical body. It doesn’t age and become infirm. From my understanding, it cannot be murdered either. In fact, there are people who have lived thousands of years in their etheric bodies without any diminution of strength and ability.

So what determines when your etheric will cease working? I have no idea. It may be a conscious decision on your part. It may be determined by the experiences that you’ve had. It may be…well, as I said, I don’t exactly know the reasons. What I do know for sure is that it will happen.

For some people it takes many years and for others it can happen very fast. Much like life here in the physical body. Some people live to be 120 and others die just a few months into gestation. The simple truth is that it will happen. Your etheric body will die, and when it does you will make another transition. Your physical body dies you are still living in your etheric and aura bodies and when your etheric dies you will continue to live in your aura body. Life goes on. You will simply slip out of one body and continue living in the other one.

So when we say that there is no death but that life is continuous we really mean it.

Rev. Joseph Mauriello © 2013

Coming Soon: Living in the Aura Body

 

There is Life All Around (conclusion)

Okay, in the past several weeks I’ve written about the different forms of life that exists. Now, I want to take some time to consider how this affects you.

First, I’ve already mentioned that it means that you are never alone. Your departed family and friends are able to visit you from the other side when you are in need and when you are celebrating. Some of you might be saying about now that you don’t have any loved ones who have crossed over. What you actually mean is that you don’t have anyone that you knew in the physical world that has passed on. You have lots of family members who died before you were born who can still be a part of your life, who love you and want to be there for you.

Three of my four grandparents crossed over before I was born. They still visited me. They helped me through some rough times. And they were there to enjoy the good times with me. Now, I know that I have the advantage of not only knowing that they are there, but I’m also able to easily perceive and communicate with them. However, you can learn from experience. Your loved ones are with you whether you are aware of them or not. Their love is flowing to you building you up when you are down and raising you higher when you are doing well.

Second, healing and spirit communication takes spiritual energy to perform. While it’s true that a certain amount of spiritual energy comes from within, the rest comes from outside of you. Where does it come from? Spirits.

Only a spirit is able to produce spiritual energy. Fortunately there are billions of spirits all around you all the time. There are the spirits of other people, of animals, of plants and of the Earth. On top of that, there are the spirits of all the people, animals and plants that have passed over. All of them are producing a spiritual energy. Now, while it’s true that not all of these spirits are around you all the time, enough are present that you have a vast “reservoir” of spiritual energy available.

Where does this reserve of energy come from? A spirit produces spiritual energy to give life to a body. However, most spirits produce more energy than they need and that extra energy is emitted out into the world. That is the energy that we tap into to use our spiritual abilities.

Finally, there is the deeper insight that all of these different kinds of spirits are all working to achieve oneness with God. They are doing so in ways that would be totally foreign to our understanding. So, you cannot judge a lion’s spiritual development, for example, as you would a human’s.

A lion hunts prey to survive. This may seem savage, but there are lions that begin eating before the prey is dead and others that make sure that it’s dead first. Is this a sign of different levels of spiritual development? It could be.

Some plants give nutrients to other plants during droughts while other plants steal nutrients to kill off competitors. Is this a sign of spiritual development? Or is it simply the result of evolution and has nothing to do with where the plant is in its spiritual development?

The point is that we must learn to not place our interpretations on other species and their spiritual development. They are growing. Some day they, too, will achieve true harmony with God. Knowing that we are all on the same spiritual journey, but following our own paths, is an important lesson to learn and accept. Such an understanding leads to tolerance.

For example, I have nothing against other people’s religions. They are following the path that is right for them. I would not denounce or seek to convert others. (Let me pause and add a note to that statement. If someone’s religion is hurting them or others, such as a cult or some so-called religions that teach violence toward others, then those I will denounce.) Spiritualism knows that forcing someone into your religion is not good for them and can actually retard their unfoldment.

Having said all that, I do know that there is a need to gather together with like minded people and share a common belief. Simply finding a group that not only acknowledges and accepts spirit communication but that actively develops the ability to can be life changing for many people who have always felt like outcasts. Having morals leads to peace. Having a system of belief brings a sense of direction to life. All of these things are important and why people need to find the path that works for them.

There is one more form of life that I want to conclude this journey with, and oddly it’s one that many people don’t consider. God.

God is a living entity. God is the Infinite Spirit that gives life to everything. God is always present in your life. God produces spiritual energy that you can tap into. God gives you strength. God raises you up higher than you thought possible. God watches over your spiritual development and that of all life.

So the next time that you feel lonely know that you are not. There is life all around you.

Joe Mauriello © 2013

 

 

There is life all around you (part 4)

So far we’ve considered human life, animal life and plant life. We’ve explored the fact that all of these have spirits, that their spirits survive the death of their bodies and that these spirits are all around you whether you are aware of it or not. Now we’re going to take a look at another living being that is present in your life—the Earth.

All ancient religions have stories relating the fact that the world is a living thing. Some call it Mother Earth, some Father Earth and others don’t give it a gender. There are also many high advanced spiritual people who have talked about communicating with the world. And all of them are correct.

The world is a living being just like us and animals and plants. It has a spirit. It is aware and it is seeking spiritual understanding.

Life requires a soul. Every living thing has a soul. It is the miraculous moment when the soul connects with the physical form when birth truly occurs. The Earth’s soul connected to the material that would form our planet billions of years ago. From that moment, those components became alive. Other planets, like Mercury or Jupiter, formed but without life. No soul ever connected to them. They exist but do not live. The Earth lives.

Many years ago I was communicating with my spirit guides on some other subject. Suddenly one of my spirit guides asked me if I would like to meet a new spirit. I said yes. The spirit guide is one that I have known my whole life and that I trust completely. From want felt like a long distance away the new spirit began to approach me. Sensing spirits from far away is nothing new to me, but this spirit felt very different.

I could sense the enormous power of this spirit. The closer that it got the more over-whelming it’s power became causing my heart began to beat rapidly, my pulse quicken and my whole body was shaking. The spirit said hello and I thought that my heart would burst it’s energy was so incredibly powerful. It apologized for any distress and then pulled away. Somehow, I knew without being told that this spirit was the Earth.

Over the next several months the spirit and I visited more and more until I was able to easily handle the massive energy that it emitted. From these, and many subsequent visits, I came to know and understand the spirit of the Earth and one of the first things that I learned may come as a shock to many people.

You see, the Earth is a very old and very powerful soul. It is highly advanced spiritually and regularly communicates with other highly advanced souls. The vast majority of humanity is not very advanced spiritually. As a result, the Earth has barely noticed us yet.

We like to think that we are the most powerful force on the planet, that we have the ability to “destroy the world” or that what we do matters to the Earth. People like to talk about “saving the planet” and “healing the Earth,” but the truth is that the Earth has been around for billions of years. We’ve been around for one-hundred thousand to one-hundred and fifty thousand years. That’s nothing to the life of the Earth. It’s 0.000025 of the Earth’s lifetime.

The Earth has been covered with magma and survived. The Earth has had very large meteors slam into it and survived. The Earth has been covered with ice several times and survived. What makes us think that we’re so powerful that we’ll destroy the Earth?

Now, this doesn’t mean that the Earth doesn’t care. It does. The Earth cared about the dinosaurs, of course they were around for millions of years so the Earth had more time to get to know them, and the Earth cares about us. It’s just that the Earth has only recently, to it’s way of viewing life, realized that we exist.

Of course, the Earth’s awareness is vastly different from what we would understand. First, time means something different to it. We count time in seconds, minutes and years. The Earth counts time in centuries, millenniums and millions of years. We perceive things using our five senses, the Earth perceives things…well there are no words to express how the Earth perceives the universe. It’s senses are so foreign to our experience that it is almost impossible for us to understand it. Just know that the Earth is aware and perceives all that is going on around it.

By the way, you may have noticed that I keep saying “it” rather than a gender. Gender is a product of the dual nature that we life. Planets do not need to mate and thus do not need gender. The Earth is frankly confused by our separating ourselves into two groups.

However, like all living beings, the Earth is seeking greater spiritual understanding. It is already very, very advanced, but it has not yet achieved true harmony with God and so it is seeking understanding and to unfold it’s spiritual abilities. The Earth studies spiritual questions. It communicates with other living planets (there are billions of them across the universe) and it uses it’s abilities such as healing and psychic-mediumship. And that leads to an interesting point.

Planets die all the time across the universe. However, they have souls just like we do and their souls are immortal just like ours. This means that there are planets living on the other side. As I said before, the other side is filled with life and this is one more example.

Do people, animals and plants live on those spirit worlds? Yes, they can. They don’t have to, but it is possible. Of course, the planet has something to say on the subject, but if it is open to the idea then yes they can live there. Is that where everyone lives on the other side? No, and it’s too complicated to explain here.

The most important thing to learn is that the Earth is a living being that is aware, growing spiritually and will one day pass on to live on the other side. Are you amazed yet at how much life has been going on all around you with you being aware of it?

Rev. Joe Mauriello © 2013

There is life all around you (part 3)

 Over the past couple of weeks we have discussed the facts that people and animals have spirits and that these spirits are active all around you right this minute. Some of them are working with you, some are coming to visit with you and the vast majority of them are simply passing by. But is that all the life that is around you?

No.

Most people don’t realize it, but there are several other forms of life around you, and this week we’re going to consider one of them. Plants.

Plants are living beings that have souls, and their souls survive after the death of the physical form.

Trees, flowers, bushes, weeds, corn, wheat, vines, and all other forms of plants are living beings. They react to stimulus. They want to survive. Some will actively give their own water and nutrients to other plants during droughts to help the other plants live. Some will purposely take water and nutrients from other plants seeking to kill off competition. Some are able to detect which type of insect is near and then release one type of scent to attract one type of insect and another type of scent to repel a different insect. Some, when they are being attacked by a particular type of insect, can actually release a specific scent to attract a different kind of insect that will attack the first one and thus save the plant.

Is there conscious thought involved in these actions? Who says that there has to be conscious thought?

Our heart beats, our digestion works, our blood flows in just about every other bodily function operates without conscious thought on our part. So whether something reacts consciously or not should not be the ultimate test of its importance.

Besides, who are we to decide that our thought processes are all that important? I have met some spirits that are so advanced that they barely regard us as sapient. Just because you may not be able to understand or duplicate the levels of consciousness of a plant, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

I have communicated, at some levels, with plants. They do not communicate like we do because their senses, and thus their understanding of the world, are completely different from what we accept as normal. For example, they are as much concerned with what is happening under the ground with their roots as they are with what’s above. If you were to try to get in touch with just the visible portion of a plant, then you would miss many vital aspects of its life.

Also, plants don’t have the same concept of male and female that we do. While there are differences in some plants, it is not the same and does not have the same imperative that it does with us. So a plants identity, and yes they have their own identities, is not founded on gender.

Another example comes from the fact that they are immobile. They have no concept of what it’s like to move and the changes that that brings. However, they have intimate understandings of the tiny changes that occur in one location throughout the day, and the year.

None of this makes plants better than us. They are just different.

Now, when a plant’s physical form dies the plant doesn’t die. Just like with animals and us, they take up residence on the other side in an etheric body. This means that there are spirit plants all around you. It is possible that if there were a forest where you house now exists that some of the plants from that forest still exist there as spirits.

Please understand that does not necessarily mean that they are ghost plants. While such a thing is possible it is very, very unlikely. Instead, plants have a different concept of time and so the plants may not know that they have been existing in that spot on the other side for us long as they have been. Plants do not have to maintain the same relative location when they cross over. A cactus, for example, could exist among pine trees on the other side.

There are two important points to take from this. One, there are plants on the other side. A spirit on the other side can find an etheric forest to walk through. There will be flowers, bushes, and, yes, weeds. Of course, what we consider to be weeds God just sees as another plant.

Second, plants have souls and that means that they are seeking to grow spiritually, just like you. Every event that they go through here and on the other side unfolds their spiritual understanding. Now, just as their perception of the world is very different from ours, their spiritual understandings and interactions are going to be very different. Not higher or lower, just different. To God ALL are equal. That means all souls whether they are human, animal, plant or something else.

Something else? We’ll get to that next week.

Rev. Joe Mauriello © 2013

 

 

 

There is Life All Around (part 2)

There is life all around you (part 2)

Last week I wrote about the fact that there are spirits roaming around us in far larger quantities than most people realize. This week I want to explore other spirits that exist around us.

Let’s start with an area that many people either accept or want to accept. Animals have spirits. They have souls just like we do and when they die their spirits continue to live. This means that the other side is full of all kinds of animals.

Now take a moment and think about that fact. Your pets come back to visit with you. Just like with your family and friends, they don’t hang around all the time hoping that you’ll notice them. Instead, they come and go just like when they were in the physical realm.

Do spirit dogs chase spirit cats? Do spirit lions still stalk spirit antelopes? They answer to that is yes and no.

The other side is not exactly like here. First, what we expect to find on the other side will be present. So, if you expect to find heaven complete with pearly gates and Saint Peter guarding the entry, then that is what you will find. This does not mean that the other side is heaven. Instead, like minded people are attracted to each other and create the reality that they expect to find.

Now, if a lion expects to find a field full of antelopes, then that is what he will find. This doesn’t mean that there are actually antelopes but that the lion, and other similar minded predators, will create the image that makes them happy. Antelopes will undoubtedly find a field full of ripe grass, plenty of clear water and no predators.

Second, the other side doesn’t work by the same principles as here. You don’t need to eat or drink or breathe air. So it would be possible for a lion to discover a place on the other side where there are no prey animals and still be completely happy.

Finally, while it is a fact that animals have spirits, they are not exactly the same as our spirits. A spirit that is a predator here may reincarnate as prey during its next physical incarnation. So, on the other side some lions and antelopes may mix together just as animal spirits and their physical natures will not be a part of their relationship.

 

The important thing to learn is that there is life all around you in many forms. Your pet(s) that have crossed over are still with you. Animal spirits that have no connection with you are passing by you right this second. The world is filled with spirits, and next week we’re going to consider another category of spirits.

Rev. Joe Mauriello © 2013

 

There is Life all Around You (part 1)

I have never known what it’s like to be alone. You know what it’s like to sit in a busy shopping mall with people walking all around you and your friends or family sitting next to you talking with you. Well, that’s how I feel even when there are no physical people around.

My entire life I’ve been able to perceive spirits all around me. I’ve gotten to know my grandparents, three of whom died before I was born. They spoiled me as a child. Played with me. Watched over me. Occasionally looked the other way, as any good, indulgent grandparent will do.

I have friends among spirits. Some are people that I knew here that have crossed over and many others are people from the other side that I’ve met and become friends with. When I was a child, I had a spirit guide who was a child too. When I was sick, which happened often due to my life-threatening asthma, he would play with me. He was a good friend that helped me get through some bad times.

I’ve met spirits from all time periods. Sometimes that show up to teach me something about their moment in history and sometimes they show up to learn from me about ours. It’s particularly fun when I’m studying some point in history, say Ancient Rome, and some spirit pops in to scoff at what the historian has written.

I have spirit guides who work with me. In fact, I have lots of spirit guides working with me right now. Not all of them are around all the time. Some come and go as the need dictates. So it’s an ever changing group of guides that are around.

And just as you can see people walking past you at the mall, that’s what life is like for me with spirits. I constantly sense spirits moving around that have nothing to do with me. They’re just people going about their business and happen to be passing within my sphere of notice.

For example, I once was driving home from the store and as I passed down a street, I saw three spirits standing on the side of the rode and sending out strong worried energy. I slowed down to see why they were worried about me when I realized that they were worried about someone in the house that they were standing outside of, and that it had nothing to do with me. So, I sent prayers to whatever was happening and kept going.

And as a child I occasionally would sit on our front porch and watch spirits going in and out of people’s homes. I loved going to cemeteries just to watch all the spirits roaming around. (Of course, now I know to make sure that none of them are stuck and to help those that are having problems moving on.)

They say that there are about seven billion people on Earth. Spirits and I laugh at such statistics. If anyone were to count the spirits, there would be trillions of people on Earth. Are you alone? No, you’re not. There are lots of people all around you all the time.

Let’s start with your Main Guide (or Guardian Guide or Guardian Angel as they are sometimes called). Your Main Guide helped you incarnate into your physical body. He will help you when it’s time to cross over. In between, he’s with you ever moment of your life guiding you, watching over you, laughing with you and sharing every important moment with you.

Then there are your loved ones. You have family on the other side. Whether it is people that you knew here or who had crossed over before your birth, they are there and they love you and care for you. When you are in need, they will be there to give you love, strength and support. When you are celebrating, they will be there to increase your joy. And when the day comes for you to cross over, they will be there welcoming you with joy and love.

If you have had any friends cross over, then they visit you, too. Of course, your loved ones don’t hang around all the time–they have lives too. They stop by for visits. Show up when you want or need them around. Pop in for holidays and get togethers. And if you are developing your abilities, then you meet new spirits and become friends with them.

Next are your other spirit guides. As you grow spiritually you will need more and more guidance. Psychic-medium guides, healing guides, protector guides, counseling guides, teaching guides and others will come into your life to help you develop. The more you grow, the more that you will be aware of the spirits around you until it can get crowded.

As you can see, life is busy all around you all the time. Increase your awareness and you will be amazed at how many loving people are in your life.

Rev. Joseph J. Mauriello © 2013

Getting Paid to Give Readings

Over the years, I have had people ask me, “Do you think it’s wrong to take money for using your spiritual gifts?”

The argument behind this question goes something like this. 1) Psychic, mediumship and healing abilities are gifts from God. 2) God freely gave them to us. 3) We should use them to better the world and do it for free.

But, are they gifts? A gift is something that is given to you and done so without any expectation of compensation. I have to say that I have never been given any of my spiritual abilities.

To keep this simple let’s stick to examining just mediumship (the ability to communicate with spirits). I’ll admit that I have been able to communicate with spirits for as long as I can remember. In fact, my earliest memories are of communicating with spirits. However, this didn’t mean that I have simply accepted that level of ability. I worked very hard all of my life to improve and hone my spiritual abilities. I have studied, meditated and discussed it with people here and on the other side. I have not just practiced mediumship; I have used it every day of my life. I have examined mediumship from every possible way so that I could gain a much better understanding of how it works.

Is it really a gift when you have to work that hard?

I don’t know what you think about reincarnation but I happen to believe in it. My understanding of reincarnation is that we gain knowledge in every life that we live, here and on the other side. When I was born into this physical incarnation I came here with a certain level of spiritual knowledge that I have been working to increase ever since. This means that I was not born into this life and suddenly, magically I could communicate with spirits. It means that I began learning how to do it in a past life (actually in several past lives).

Is it really a gift when you have to work hard through multiple lifetimes to develop it?

I say that mediumship, and my other spiritual skills, are not gifts. Instead, I prefer to refer to such things as abilities. Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not just playing semantics. The words we choose have power and meaning. When you’re told that someone is giving you a gift you may be delighted, but would you actually work at improving the gift? On the other hand, if you’re told that God has made sure that all of us have the equal right to develop a spiritual ability and this ability is something that you want will you work at developing it? Yes, you would.

You see, by changing the word we use we change the drive behind it. I have the ability to communicate with spirits. This is a skill that I have learned how to use. With time, effort and training I can become better and better at it.

Now let me divert to a non-spiritual example for a minute. Mozart began playing the piano at a very young age (to my mind further evidence that we gain skills and knowledge in past lives). From then on he practiced every day and continued to learn everything he could about the piano and music composition. Eventually, he became one of the greatest composers who ever lived.

Have you ever heard anyone say that Mozart should not be paid? Of course not, because everyone can see that what he had was an ability that he worked very hard to develop. People recognize that such perseverance and dedication should be compensated. And yet, some of the same people will sneer when someone says that he gets paid for doing readings.

I can almost hear someone saying, “But those aren’t the same thing. What we’re talking about is a higher calling based on love and compassion.”

Okay, then what about doctors and nurses. Most of them entered their professions because they’re loving and compassionate people who want to help others. What about firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs)? They go into their professions because they want to make the world a better place. Finally, what about ministers? They answer a higher calling sent by God. No one says a word when one of these groups gets paid. So why should psychic-mediums and healers be treated so differently?

I always seek to teach people that psychic, mediumship, and healing abilities are simply skills that anyone can learn. Are some people better at them than other people? Yes. I used took piano lessons and I can safely say that Mozart has nothing to fear from me. But, I learned these skills and had I persisted I could have gotten fairly good. Well, the same is true of your spiritual abilities. They are skills that anyone can learn, and work at getting good at using.

Having said all of that, does this mean that you can’t give away the results of your spiritual abilities? Of course not. It’s completely up to you whether you want to charge a fee or not. After all, God also granted us free will.

Rev. Joseph J. Mauriello © 2013