Signs from the Other Side. Bill Philipps

coincidences.

      Open your mind, open your heart, and believe . . . and experience the beauty that unfolds around you.

      

       4 Believe It Can Happen

      We all have different beliefs in terms of the life beyond this one, beliefs cultivated over the years by who raised us and how we were raised, what we were taught, which part of the world we live in, which schools we attended, what we watch, what we read, and whom we listen to. Who or what you say is “God” or the “universe” may be completely different from my view. Even two people who sit next to each other in church week after week aren’t necessarily going to have identical beliefs. But those differences are not important when it comes to recognizing signs from the other side. Anyone can do it. The only belief we have to share is that it’s possible to receive those signs.

      Many people, out of curiosity, ask me about my beliefs. You may find my faith a bit complicated, but I can tell you that it is based on the Christian upbringing my grandma provided. No matter your denomination, you will likely find some commonalities between what I believe and what you believe.

      In order to understand my belief system, first you need to understand my grandma. Although I know she loves me — the boy she raised and the man I’ve become — she does not love the part of me that you know, the medium. I honestly think it scares her. It flies in the face of her own belief system. As a devout Christian, she always keeps a Bible nearby. She prays daily and isn’t afraid to preach the word of God publicly. And it is her courage to speak her beliefs that I so deeply admire and respect about her and cherish so dearly. When I was young, she would put on Bible-based cartoons for me to watch, and I enjoyed them. She is very “old-school” when it comes to her religion. She has lived her life with integrity and honesty, and she no doubt has earned her ticket to heaven.

      She has never felt comfortable with my work as a medium because the Bible says to steer clear of communicating with the dead. She believes that the devil is somehow behind what I believe is my God-given gift. She doesn’t believe I am the devil, as my dad once suggested long ago. She believes that the devil is tricking me and using me by posing as good spirits to try to infiltrate the lives of others. For example, if I tell you that your mom is coming through to me, my grandma would say it’s really the devil pretending to be your mom in order to gain clearer access to you. This is completely false, and it comes from a place of fear. People often ask me if I am ever contacted by dark forces. The answer is no, because I protect myself with the white light of God before channeling.

      While I completely understand my grandma’s perspective, I obviously don’t agree with it in light of my personal everyday experiences, all of them positive. I am convinced that God — a very loving God — gave me this ability and that I am doing what the Bible says with respect to using my God-given gift to serve others. In fact, this gift has not only helped those I share it with grow in their faith; it has helped me grow stronger in mine. My relationship with God has become more personal, I have learned how to pray, and I have realized that I am under an obligation to share this beautiful gift with the world.

      So, what do I believe?

      I believe in a spirit world called heaven that we enter when we leave our physical bodies behind on earth. Heaven is a spectacular place, but we enter it at different levels based on the lives we live as humans — what lessons we learned and those we failed to learn. The better people we are on earth, the better our position in heaven. However, I also believe we can move up levels once we are in heaven by acknowledging the errors we made when we were in human form, which are much more easily recognizable once our souls are separated from our bodies. We go through a life review to see how we could have done things differently and where we could have been more godlike, compassionate, and loving. Just as we learn, grow, and evolve while in the flesh, we continue to do so in spirit form.

      I believe in reincarnation — that we all lived many lives before this one. I see earth as a classroom that was set up for us when we were in spirit form, where we chose which lessons our souls would benefit from, before incarnating into human form. We created a road map of sorts that detailed the experiences we could have in this life. That road map has many avenues, and because of free will, our decisions influence which is taken. Ultimately, which path we take can affect whether we fulfill our purpose and learn the lessons we were supposed to learn in this life. I believe that any “déjà vu” we experience is a quick snapshot of that road map, a confirmation that we are in sync with what we had planned our earthly experience to be.

      I believe each of us is part of a preplanned soul group. For example, before you were born into this life, you made an agreement with your soul group, souls you traveled with in previous lifetimes. Those souls include blood family — parents, siblings, children, and so forth — along with non–family members. Together, you are all soul mates.

      We generally refer to our romantic partner as a “soul mate,” and they could be, but a soul mate could also be your good friend Bob from high school with whom you have a strong connection. It could be a teacher who had a profound effect on your life. It could be a neighbor who becomes your best friend over time. Soul mates are usually people who bring you feelings of connection and peace and love. A soul mate, however, could also be an alcoholic ex-husband who abused you but whose behavior taught you lessons about self-worth. We came into this life to learn those lessons and to grow from them.