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Don’t Worry, I’m a Friendly Ghost!

by Michael J Tamura

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” It’s an expression sometimes used to tell someone that he looks shaken, terrified, and disoriented. For many people, it would make sense that if they came face-to-face with an apparition of a known “dead” person, they would be somewhat rattled. After all, most people consider that once we’re dead, we’re gone. In fact, isn’t that the main reason people kill each other - to get rid of someone once and for all?

Well, for those of you who haven’t died yet and still believe that once someone’s dead they’re gone, I have news for you. Of course, these days, real-live mediums like James Van Praagh and Jonathan Edwards regularly have lively discussions on Prime-Time TV with the so-called “dead” people. As well, people like Dannion Brinkley, P.M.H. Atwater, and many others who have “been dead, done that” multiple times and “returned” to tell about them have all given us much more reality in the fact that even if our bodies die, we don’t. The natural question that follows for each of us is: What, then, am I?

I’ve been one of those fortunate souls who has known from before my birth that I wasn’t ever going to die. In case I developed any doubts about that growing up in a society that mostly consisted of people who seemed to have forgotten that we are immortal divine beings, my body’s died twice in the past few years - yet, in many ways I was even more alive when my body stopped breathing. We, as souls, live before, during, and after those bodily experiences we call birth, life, and death.

So, are you still scared of ghosts? You know, they don’t just go bump in the night - they do so just as much in broad daylight! In fact, do you know what it’s like to be a ghost? You should. You’re basically a ghost that still has a live physical body to bump around in. One of the advantages of having a physical body is that most people can see you. At least, they can see that whatever you might be, you exist. Of course, on the other hand, I’m sure you’ve experienced many people who don’t see a whole lot of who you are except that you have a body. “Hello-o! Can anyone see me out there?”

Whenever you’ve felt that no one really saw you, understood who you were or where you were at, you felt very much like many ghosts do waving their hands in front of people’s eyes saying, “Hey, you, I’m right here talking to you! Can’t you see me? Don’t you hear a word I’m saying?” Sound familiar?

When you have a physical body, at least most people recognize that you are standing there in front of them. Yet, for many people, their perception of your body eclipses any awareness they might have of the spirit-you and they neglect to truly get to know the inner you. They might hug your body, look at it, and say, “You haven’t changed at all!” or “My, you’ve gained a lot of weight since I last saw you.” If you’re lucky, they’ll like your new wardrobe and admire your career accomplishments or your children.

More often than not, I actually get a whole lot more done as a “ghost” than I do as a real live person. For example, at night when my body sleeps, I go out of it as the soul that I am to teach, heal, and work “on the other side.” During that experience, I’m much more like a ghost, aren’t I? I’m not carting around my physical body and, in most cases, I’m not even functioning in this physical world. On those occasions during which I do come visit you in the physical realm, I’m the one that goes bump in your night! Hopefully, I’m not too scary-looking. Most likely, I’m just checking up on you.

So, what is it that I actually do on “the other side”? It’s really not an “other” side. There are no “sides” in spirit. It’s just a convenient way to make the distinction for those with a physical “side” perspective. If you didn’t know there’s a lot more to life than just “here,” the part you don’t see yet can be thought of as “the other side”. In truth, however, it’s all one.

My typical night out (of my body) starts with driving a kind of school bus route to pick up my students, those hardy souls who have been studying with me, some who do so only in the spirit realm and others who do so in the physical world as well. I’m also a “spirit guide” to many souls living on earth today. When we get together in spirit, I give lectures, demonstrations, experiments, healings, and perhaps take some on a “field trip.” Every night, I also make my “rounds” much like a doctor might in a hospital of all my “patients” and “charges.” And, very similar to what you find in a teaching hospital, I normally take my advanced students along on the rounds and teach them many things about healing and the development of souls. My lectures span a wide range of topics that help in the guidance and development of souls. Demonstrations can vary from those specifically of healing to those of developing certain abilities to those that show how things in the world really work.

Sometimes we take field trips down “memory lane” of history and other times we explore sacred sites and ancient places of learning. Often, I will take a group to visit other sanctuaries of learning to attend the lectures of advanced masters. The kind of places created by human hands barely hint at what is available in the higher realms.

One of the things that I do teach souls is how to become more aware of being spirit and to realize it in the body. For most souls, it’s too painful and frustrating an experience to remember too much of their soul experiences as infants and little children. Can you imagine being an accomplished professor, virtuoso musician, or rocket scientist and having people constantly peer into your face, pull on your cheeks, and go, “Kootchie-kootchie-koo”? Meanwhile, you’ve prepared a whole lecture to give or are ready to have a deep discussion with people. I was luckier than most, I suppose, since I had a few Japanese college boys who took a liking to me as a curious little kid starting when I was 5 or so and we’d have discussions about the nature of life and the way the universe worked. Also, by the time I was in Junior High, my mom got interested in having late night discussions with me about similar topics. At the time, none of them actually saw me as the soul that I was, but, at least I could talk a little bit about what I knew from my many lifetimes of experience and learning. It helped me to not forget everything. But, all in all, growing up I often felt like a ghost roaming on this earth with very few people who saw any part of me and with whom I could relate. Of course, now, I know many more people who have a much more expanded awareness of their spiritual life. I’ve also taught thousands of people over the past thirty-five years to become more aware of themselves and to start living as the immortal souls that they are. Some of them are able to see much more of who I am.

Incarnating as a soul into the physical body is also a little like trying to fit into clothes three sizes too small for us. It seems that we start off a giant and then squeeze down into a little person. A major part of our spiritual growth has to do with integrating into our body consciousness the full awareness and wisdom of who we are. It often feels like waking up in the morning having had the most amazing dream yet not being able to quite remember all the vivid details. As we make more space in our body-mind we begin to recall more and more of the details of what we know when we are not enmeshed in our body experience. We begin to remember some of our previous incarnations, what we did before this birth, where we go during our sleep time and what we do, as well as recall the agreements and plans that we’ve made for this lifetime. Then, when we do show up without our physical bodies in front of others, we won’t look and act much like what most people think of as wandering and earthbound “ghosts” but instead we’ll shine as our true radiant, divine and immortal beings of light.

Don’t worry. When I come to visit you in spirit, I’ll try not to rattle any chains. In fact, you’ll hear me laughing. And, if you see me driving my yellow school bus, you’re welcome to come to class!

Michael Tamura awakens souls. With compassion, humor and wisdom, he guides people to their true destiny and life purpose. He is revered around the world as a master teacher, visionary, healer, clairvoyant, and pioneer of spiritual healing and psychic development. Michael offers innovative, inspirational seminars, programs and audio/video products of self-discovery, personal empowerment and spiritual healing. His celebrated, award-winning book, You Are The Answer, is available in bookstores and online. For more on his work, events calendar and products please go to www.michaeltamura.com or call his office: (530)926-2650.