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By Root 625 0

not realize he or she is dead for quite some time. In this postdeath state, a ghost may be living the illusion that he or she is still alive. I was once at a séance with Leslie Flynt, a very famous British medium. Leslie, the most tested medium of the twentieth century, was hailed as the number-one physical medium in the world. A physical medium is rare and very different from a mental medium. Mental mediums utilize their mental processes, such as seeing, hearing, and feeling, to contact spirits. Physical mediums contact spirits through their own physical bodies. A ghost uses the medium’s physical energy and forms into a shape that becomes physically visible, or it uses the medium’s voice to speak. The latter method was how ghosts came through Leslie Flynt.

As a group of us sat in a circle, the ghost of a young British sailor from World War II came through. He reported that he was part of a naval blockade attempting to intercept German U-boats. He added that his ship had been hit, and he was in the sea holding on to a rock. The poor soul was confused about his circumstances. He thought that if he let go of the rock he would drown. His mental image was so strong that he dared not let go.

The compassionate light created by the séance had attracted this particular soul to us. In fact, the people in the group were part of a rescue circle, and they did this sort of thing on a regular basis. Leslie impressed upon this young man that he was already dead. At first, the sailor found it hard to believe. As other members of the group instructed him to think of his deceased mother, the sailor’s mother showed up to assist him into the light. When the young man realized the truth, he was ready to move on. You may be wondering why his mother, or some other deceased family member, had not come to him earlier and helped him out. The answer is simple. The young man was so obsessed by his situation that, with his whole heart and soul, he believed he was holding on to that rock. As long as he did, he felt he would not die. He was in such a highly charged emotional state that he couldn’t imagine anything outside of his own predicament. Even if his mother had sat beside him, he would not have seen her.

Earthbound ghosts are often lost souls, and they need help to move out of the earthly realm and into the higher light. Sometimes they need the help of the living to cross over. This is where sensitivity and awareness come in. There are many of us who can help these lost souls move on.

Several years ago, I was host of my own syndicated television show, Beyond. We decided to produce a segment on paranormal activity, so we went on location to Oklahoma City to film a haunted house. It was the middle of summer, and I can remember how very hot it was. When we arrived at our hotel, I was greeted by Mary Ann Winkowski, a real-life ghost-buster who was going to be with me on the show. I will never forget my first impression of her. She seemed like a typical suburban housewife who would be more at home baking cookies than chasing ghosts. She had an especially good sense of humor and a wonderful way of making fun of herself and the work she did for a living. Needless to say, Mary Ann and I hit it off right from the start.

That night, Mary Ann, the production staff, and I had dinner together. As we waited for our meal to be served, Mary Ann described her life in detail. “The first time I realized that I was different was when I was about five years old. My grandmother caught me talking to my dead grandfather. ‘You have the gift,’ she said.”

Mary Ann continued. “I often communicated with spirit children in my backyard. When my friends came over to play, they would ask, ‘Who are you talking to?’ It wasn’t easy to say back then, ‘I see dead people.’”

“When did you know you were a medium?” I asked.

Mary Ann quickly corrected me. “I am not a medium, James. I don’t communicate with spirits that have passed to the other side. The only ones I see and hear are those who are earthbound.”

Mary Ann explained her take on earthbound ghosts.

“When an earthbound