Those trustworthy friends who had recommended my first clairvoyant – henceforth referred as C – had not told me that he could have a spirit materialise before him. His practice was apparently to have the spirit sent to him guide him in solving whatever problem his client brought to him. I had no problem. Yet, my experience that morning was to change my life – and my understanding of reality – most spectacularly.
Here is what happened. Having told me that he had the spirit of my uncle with him, C asked “Will you accept him?” But there was no one in the room. I replied thus: “I have 3 uncles. Please describe him.” C described the appearance of the visitor. There was no doubt that my favourite uncle, the second-most important man in my life, had materialised – and was visible to C.
My uncle then communicated silently with C. He told C that he had been sent “by higher beings” to offer me advice on my spiritual progress. I felt deep gratitude, as I waited for C to convey more of my uncle’s words.
Reminiscing (in part), my uncle displayed that:
- his memory of his past, including his relationship with his sister, my mother, was intact
- he knew what had happened to me, although he had died decades before (“Now that everything in your godown has been burnt down” – I couldn’t have said that more succinctly)
- I should “go north” with my “little brown bag” (my cabin bag which he had never seen) – but he did not say where – for my further progress.
He then made 2 statements which confused me:
- the spirit world (in C’s words) had “experienced difficulty in getting me to Australia.” Having been exposed to a great deal of extreme racism and virulent tribalism over my then 45 years in Australia, and had my 2 potential professional career paths blocked because of my skin colour, religion, and foreign origin, I was discomfited by those words. Why me? was my silent reaction.
- Supported by C’s own spirit guide, my uncle then suggested, as follows: that I “could seek to contribute to building a bridge from where you came to where you are.” That did not make any sense then.
To sum up: Previous to that day, I had no knowledge that the spirit realm existed: that spirits could manifest themselves to convey messages; that insubstantial spirits could retain their Earthly minds and memories; and that C could call on the spirit world for assistance in his professional role.
Two years later, I accepted my improbable experiences as real; that I was adequately experienced and knowledgeable to contribute to building that ‘bridge’; and that I would indeed go north (to an ashram where I did have a soul-touching spiritual experience). So, I began to write, aided by that spiritual exposure.
My 4 books on migrant settlement (or integration), including 2 written as memoirs, all based on personal experience and knowledge, have been endorsed by senior academics, and reviewed favourably professionally. These were followed by 2 other books, 44 ‘intellectual’ articles on a website, and daily posts on my blog titled ‘An octogenarian’s final thoughts.’ Speculative (and occasionally provocative) thoughts challenge me to express myself honestly and without fear.
That was not my only exposure to the spirit realm; but it led me to understand my destiny path.
RAJA ARASA RATNAM 