During my early years of spiritual and psychic awareness, I read a few hundred books in an effort to learn how our lives "teach us" and what happens after the transition of "death". Although they all helped my understanding in their own way, without doubt, the best books ever written on this subject are the three I have mentioned below, as they scientifically and graphically explain the continuation of life, and the physics and science behind it all. They are a must for those of you who want to fully understand the reality of what happens at the time of passing, our lives now and hereafter.

During a sitting, I am usually asked by the client how it is that I am able to connect with the 'other side'.

First of all, let me explain that there is no such thing as the 'other side'. This is a term that seems to have become commonly used to explain that someone is no longer on this physical plane.

I'll try and explain it the best way I know how, but I would strongly suggest that for a clearer understanding of the laws of nature you should read the books I have mentioned below. In these books, the author, Arthur Findlay, explains in detail how the mind, spirit, or whatever you choose to call it, cannot possibly 'die'. Everything I know today, apart from my own experiences, are due to the works of this incredible man, and I would strongly recommend them to anyone seeking evidence of survival, or 'how it really works'.

Basically, the physical body is the carriage for the mind, or the consciousness, and it is this consciousness that cannot physically die, as it is not actually part of the physical vehicle that carries it. The physical body only serves as a dwelling place for the spirit for the time it has to stay on this earth.

After a while, the physical body, as with everything that dwells on this plane of existence, will eventually die. The vibrations and conditions on this plane are simply too coarse and heavy for eternal life to be possible.

At the time of death, the physical body falls away from the consciousness, or spirit, leaving it with no option but to seek out where to go and what to do next. The immediate reactions of the spirit are determined by its thoughts and ideas of when it lived within the body, i.e. if it did not believe in the continuation of life, it's in for a shock! This is why, when we find ourselves looking down at our body at the time of death, we are met by someone we know, a parent or partner, etc. This way, we are able to proceed with our journey knowing that it is safe to do so. It can be quite disturbing to find you are looking at yourself in a hospital bed, or wherever you are at the time of death. To see a familiar face would certainly be comforting in those first few seconds of passing.

The next level of existence and the surroundings you find yourself in, will again be determined by your thoughts and the way you lived your life. A good person who lived their life in an unselfish manner causing minimal harm to others, will enjoy a wonderful existence in the next life, as they will find themselves dwelling amongst like-minded spirits. On the other hand, an evil minded person who lived a cruel existence with no thought for the results of their callous actions will find their consciousness in the next life dwelling amongst similar souls as their own. I believe this is what we call 'Hell'. Basically, the life that awaits you depends entirely on the life you live at the moment.

Why is it, that your life after this one is determined by this life now? The answer is simply that a negative individual, on this plane or the next, is carried through their life on a much coarser, heavier vibration than a positive one. Perhaps you've heard a friend say that they like to be with so-and-so because that person always lifts their spirits and cheers them up. This is because 'so-and-so' is a warm and positive individual whose presence rubs off on those around them. This 'presence' is caused by the fine vibration surrounding that person. (This is called the 'aura', or the electrical energy that surrounds everything, which I won't go into right now).

As with this life, so with the next. You mix with your own kind here and the same applies hereafter.

This is where we get into the science and the physics of it all and I suggest that for a clearer explanation you should read the books mentioned. In these books, Arthur Findlay graphically and scientifically describes the many existences after this one and explains far better than I can how we come to find ourselves there, but for now, I hope my explanation gives you a basic idea.

Mediums are nothing special. There is nothing I do that you cannot do. When I get asked about my psychic and mediumistic abilities, I say this: Your psychic abilities and the development of them are no different to body-building. If you work hard at developing your psychic abilities, as with going to a gym, eventually the results will become apparent. However, if you do desire to develop your clairvoyant skills, I would suggest that you do this with a fellow medium, just as you would enlist the help of a bodybuilding instructor. The start of this development is that you are learning to open psychic channels in order to allow for the finer vibration of the spirit world to communicate through you. This can prove dangerous if not developed within a controlled environment as these channels can let anybody in.

One more thing: Mediumistic ability and the level of development are determined by the thoughts and ideas of the trainee. If the trainee wishes to develop these skills so as to promote spiritual awareness and to assist our fellow humans, that person should have no problems at all and their skills should reach an exceptional level. On the other hand, if the skills are only being developed in order that the trainee can brag to their friends that they are psychic and can 'talk to the dead', they won't get very far at all.