The Face in the Clock

My story begins as a little girl–a Navy Brat to be more exact–growing up in Japan. My mother was Japanese,  so I had many relatives and heard many stories of the family. It was during one story telling session that I  discovered that I had an aunt who I had never met because she had died many years ago. I was no different than most kids; I had a curiosity that wouldn’t quit and had to find out what she looked like and who she was. So the search began, trying to find out more about my aunt who had died of cancer and left behind two children, now in an orphanage. During my search I came across a picture of her. She was so young and beautiful . . .  I felt cheated that I missed out on getting to know her. I decided at that moment, looking into her face, that I wanted to keep her picture and put it up in my room.

As the years went by, I thought less and less of my Aunt, but I always had her picture up. Then one day we got the news: daddy was being transferred to the United States, we were moving. Everything was packed up, all the necessary shots received and we were on our way to Bremerton, Washington. When we arrived we rented a duplex. We never unpacked anything because we were just going to be there a short time while our house was being built. Finally the day came when we were moving into our new house. I got my own room for the very first time, and once again I took out my aunt’s picture and put it up in my room. But, as all life in the Military goes, we had to move again; this time to California. The routine began again, this time without the shots though– what a relief!

Once more, boxes were unpacked, rooms set up and life started over in a new home as it always did. I went to sleep one night only to wake up a few hours later. It was still dark outside, so I looked at my clock to see what time it was. Instead of the digital numbers I was expecting to see, I saw my aunt instead. She was in my clock. I rubbed my eyes to clear them from the sleepiness and took another look–she was still there. Realizing that I wasn’t going to get the time, I decided to go back to sleep instead of trying for a third time. I felt no fear seeing my Aunt, just a huge sense of puzzlement. Why was she in my clock?

The next morning I told my mother what had happened during the night. Why had my aunt come to visit me? We had never met, she did not know who I was, yet there she was. My mother asked me where her picture was that I kept in my room. I explained that I had not unpacked it this time. She told me that she had come to ask me to put her picture back up. That day, I did just that. She has not come to visit me again. Although I do not have her picture up any more, it is still up in my mother’s house. I believe it was important to her for us to have her picture on display so that we would not forget her. After her visit, I do not need the picture to keep her in my memories.  I have my experience of her visiting me in the middle of the night to keep her memory alive in my heart . . . always.

—Anonymous

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Waiting by the Door: Tarmi’s Story

When we lived in CA, my mother bought me a dog.  I named her Ptarmigan Jangles, Tarmi for short. She was one of my favorites of all the dogs I had; actually my second favorite. I took her everywhere I could. We were always together. When Larry and I got married she came with us. One day, after months of struggling with the decision, we finally decided that it would be best if we put her down. It was the hardest decision I ever made, and the first time I had to make that decision for one of my pets.

Shortly after we lost her, I was visiting my mother and looked out the kitchen screen door. There she was, clear as day, peering in at me. I looked away and looked back and she was still there. For several months thereafter, every time I went to my mother’s, she would be standing at the screen door looking at me. It brought me great comfort to know that she was still with me.

Thank you, Munch, for your submission.

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Coco’s Return

Editor’s Note: With this post, I’m back to the theme of the blog. My apologies for the Gracie posts, as they really were meant for a different blog site.

I had left the door open and Imanya screamed, “Nod just escaped! She ran outside!” Panic. We had just recovered one lost animal, and we were about to lose another. I saw the whole scenario in my head: Missing cat posters, miserable kid, the whole family in turmoil again. “Oh . . . Nod’s right behind me,” Imanya stated, with a note of confusion in her voice. A quick check revealed that every animal was in place: Kenny was sitting, gremlin-like, on the desk by the front door; Nod was starting at us from the rug like we were all crazy; Bingo was perched on the stone wall outside. Gracie was in her cage, Mrs. Snuffles was downstairs in her rodent mansion, the fish were in the tank–so what had happened here? This was not a case of seeing something from the corner of your eye, but rather a direct vision (what should we call it?) of a cat, assumed to be Nod, running out the door.

Actually, said IMS, she hadn’t really seen Nod. She simply assumed it had to be Nod. She had seen a black cat with a hanging belly scurry out the door. It was Coco who ran out the door–except for the inconvenient fact that Coco had died on November 23rd, 2007. We didn’t tell her at the time what my husband recently confided to me: He saw Coco walk past the laundry room, in the bright light of day. Of course, upon inspection, there was no black cat to be found. I don’t tell my little family about the multiple times I’ve seen–at an angle– a black cat at the food dish only to have him disappear when I turn my gaze fully upon the feeding bowl, or the fact that Coco seems to take over Nod’s body when she’s fighting Bingo. Behaviors that were unique to Coco pop up in Nod for brief moments, causing me to wonder if my old cat’s soul has momentarily occupied our kitten.

Even though I maintain this blog about supernatural stories or survival of consciousness–whatever you wish to call it–I don’t readily admit to people what I sometimes see or sense. I have an accute awareness that many people think such stories are fun fiction or personal delusion, hallucinations we experience that accompany grief or fulfill some hidden psychological need or agenda. However, what makes this story different for me is simply the fact that all three of us have experienced a Coco visitation, and we are not grieving his absence or desperately needing him to appear. When we have seen him, or visually perceived him (what is the difference?), we were not thinking about him, much less hoping to see him. Almost three years have passed since Coco left us, and it’s safe to say we came to terms with that fact long ago.

And yet, there he is. I don’t know how to explain it, I don’t know what it means, but the facts in this post are true. I invented none of this, nor embellished it. If you have had a similar experience, please comment or send me your story so that I can post it. My theory is that our pets form attachments that death doesn’t appear to break. What do you think?

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Questions in Your Head: A Paranormal Investigator Ponders Paranormality

I like this post because if you have ever spent hours and hours investigating a supposedly ‘haunted’ place and NOTHING happens, you have to start entertaining yourself. Or, as we read in this submission, asking yourself some Important Questions. Enjoy!

Since I work in a relatively conservative “day job” I find if I bring up any subject that involves paranormal I get the “crazy person stare-down.” I seem to have few to turn to for answers so I find myself having little silent conversations in my head.

Like this:

(Yes, an actual conversation I had, with myself, in my head, during an uneventful investigation.)

B1: So, residual hauntings are paranormal events that repeat themselves and are not affected by current influences.

(Other “B” not listening)

B1 (cont.): Some people believe they are like a recording of the past, repeating the same loop over and over.

(B2 Annoyed)

B2: But what if they are not just a ‘recording’ of the past but the actual event played over and over?

B1: Who’s to say they are not?

B2: Perhaps, a residual event is like a stone thrown into a pond. We, in our time, see the ripples of the event over and over again.

(Pause to check EMF meter.)

B1: Now what if an event happens in the future? Would the ripples travel back?

(Five minutes pass)

B2: How would we see them?

B1: If sound and light are subjected to the Doppler effect can time also have its own Doppler effect? Perhaps people from past events have detail while people from the future appear in shadow?

B2: Are shadow people from the future? Could they just be manifestations of our own consciousness?
(Pause to take picture of… nothing… hoping it could reveal something)

B1: Does the moon have anything to do with things making themselves visible? After all it has an effect on the earth’s magnetic field.

(Pause)

B2: Gotta lay off the coffee before the investigations.

B1: So… Do you think residual hauntings are the actual ‘past’ events being seen by us? Not just an echo of the event, but the actual event? If time is not linear, then that could be possible… right?

B1/B2: Where the hell is the bathroom?

And so it goes within my head.

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Our First ‘Personal Story’

Go the “personal story” page. My thanks to the author for sharing this with us.

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The Soul Bank Wants to Hear From You!

Photo by Grendl: flickr.com/grendl

Do you have a personal, paranormal experience? Are you not sure, but would like to hear from others? The Soul Bank is currently accepting the following

• True (to the best of your knowledge) stories, preferably first-hand accounts;
• Book reviews on the paranormal/survival of consciousness/reincarnation/NDEs, OBEs;
• Essays or commentaries on topics concerning the above;
• Summaries/reporting on paranormal investigations that you or your group have conducted;
• Skeptical commentary rebutting, refuting or debunking information on this site (be professional and polite);
• The latest in ghost-hunting technology.

As the moderator and founder of the site, I reserve the right to:

• Edit your work (with your permission);
• Decline your submission if it does not fit the guidelines above, or contains offensive material;
• Move posts to different pages in the site, or alter the font and design of the post;
• Decide when to post your entry.

Of course, you can comment on posts directly at any time. Submissions can be emailed to: kirsten@soulbank.com. Please only send .doc files. I cannot support other software programs. If you send pictures, make sure that they are .jpg, and no videos, please.

I look forward to beginning the dialogue! New material will be posted every week.

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Greetings from the Soul Bank!

I’m very excited to launch my new site, because it involves a topic so near to my heart: the paranormal and survival of consciousness. My hope? To involve you, the readers, in creating a collection of stories, essays, (b)logs and discussions/debates in the general area of survival of consciousness (ghosts, poltergeists, near death experiences, out of body experiences, etc.).

I want this to be a place where everyone is comfortable sharing paranormal experiences and asking the hard questions about the nature of soul, spirit and mind. This is not a place for expressing religious convictions or rigid opinions; I ask that readers keep an open mind and a critical approach. Life and death are the greatest mysteries, yet I don’t believe the greatest questions are simply “unknowable”. If all we can do is collect evidence, then let’s do that–at some point, when enough people tell their stories and make connections to the past, present and future of after-life research and inquiry, we may be able to understand what awaits us at the end of our journey.

With that in mind, welcome to my site. I hope you enjoy future posts, and I trust you will contribute to the conversation.

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