My Dad was a Devout Atheist
He did not believe in any sort of Divine entity. He despised organized religion. And he most certainly did not think there was an afterlife…when the body dies, it’s all over.
So when he passed away two years ago, I was very curious as to what his actual post-death experience was. Did his existence just…fade to black and that was it?
Or (much to his surprise and perhaps dismay) did he discover that something—our consciousness, soul, spirit, essence, etc—does live on after the death of the body?
My personal experience in life thus far have demonstrated to me enough evidence to support a belief that something does indeed exist after the death of our bodies. I’m not sure what, exactly…but I strongly suspect our soul does continue to exist in some capacity.
But I must admit that in the three months following my Dad’s death, other than a sense of feeling that his spirit was close (mainly in the increased clarity of my thoughts), I didn’t receive any sort of tangible “sign” that his soul was…you know, still in circulation.
And then, wouldn’t you know it, three months after his passing (on Mother’s Day, oddly enough), I had the strangest experience. I woke up at 4 a.m. because I could hear a man’s voice saying, “Dad…Dad…Dad…”
It was NOT my Dad’s voice. In fact, it didn’t sound quite human…close but not quite. It was rather robotic-sounding.
My room was pitch black, but it sounded as if the voice was coming from a few feet to my right. At first, I thought I was still dreaming, so I blinked my eyes several times. But the voice kept repeating the word, “Dad.”
Then I thought it must be my dog snoring. But I held my breath and listened carefully. Nope…I could hear my dog breathing and the voice saying, “Dad.” By this point, I was wide awake…and starting to get a little concerned.
I didn’t think there actually was someone in my bedroom…at least, not a person. Rather, I was concerned because I was pretty sure I knew what I was hearing—and it wasn’t something I would be able to see when I turned the light on.
I finally reached over and switched on my lamp. Sure enough, there was no one in my room. And the voice stopped instantly.
Now you can either choose to believe me, or not. If you don’t, I wouldn’t blame you one bit because it is weird.
But here’s what I think was going on…
I think what I heard was the soul of my Dad learning how to communicate with the living (he’d had three months to get over the shock of realizing there is life after death). It sounded as if he was practicing how to “speak” as a soul by repeating the word, “Dad.”
It makes sense that it wouldn’t be his voice I heard—because he obviously no longer has vocal chords.
At any rate, wouldn’t you know it but that very same day I had a session booked with a woman by the name of Lanne Rice. Lanne is an energy worker who possesses the ability to “channel.” Lanne helps people find the truth to their questions by channeling the direct answer.
What is Channeling?
If you’re not familiar with the term (I certainly wasn’t), channeling is a form of communication between humans and angelic beings, nature spirits, non-physical entities, or even animals and pets. A channeler is like a translator or interpreter who can sense the non-verbal communication from another being and translate it into human words. A channeler can also help someone get in touch with their own soul…their higher self.
Prior to my session with Lanne, I had not spent time with a channeler before. But I had met Lanne at a couple different events in the previous months and had clicked with her. I trusted her.
So when I met Lanne for our channeling session mere hours after hearing the “Dad” voice, I told her about the experience. She was delighted but not surprised…that is, after all, her line of work.
Lanne asked me if I would like to know if my Dad was, in fact, nearby?
“Sure,” I said.
A few minutes later, we got an answer. Yes, he was right there in the studio with us—but he did appreciate being “summoned” because he felt like he was being put on the spot. So if it was okay with me, he would prefer to just hang back and listen in on my conversation with Lanne.
The session unfolded from there. I cleared out a lot of old stuff in my heart and head in that hour…literally. I visualized boxing up all sorts of thoughts I no longer needed and putting them outside the door of my mind—very similar to what I had been doing at home, in preparation for putting my house on the market: getting rid of all sorts of old stuff from the boxes in my basement.
“Your Dad is helping you right now,” Lanne said at one point. “He is taking the boxes of thoughts you no longer need and throwing them away for you.”
I looked at her and raised one eyebrow.
“He really likes helping you,” she said, undeterred by my skepticism. “He wants to help you. You just have to ask.”
Three weeks later, I sold my home to a developer – before I’d even listed it on the market.
“I didn’t see that deal coming,” said my real estate agent.
To which I just smiled. My Dad had worked in commercial real estate for years.
“Some earthlings can listen so deeply that they actually hear the divine. They receive guidance and comfort to share with the rest of us, like spiritual receptionists passing along messages…I’ve found that when someone’s got a direct line to the Universe, their words have such a profound resonance, you immediately recognize them as truth.”
– Martha Beck, O Magazine, July 2017
I think Lanne Rice is one of those special people who does have a direct line to the Universe. Mind you, I think we all could. Maybe we just need to ask the right questions…and learn how to listen for the answers?
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Previously Published on Pink Gazelle
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