Van Praagh - Heaven and Earth

HEAVEN AND EARTH

Making the Psychic Connection

Making the Psychic Connection

James Van Praagh

Lauren Simonetti

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ISBN 0-7432-2358-6

eISBN 13: 978-1-439-10722-5

ISBN 978-0-743-22358-4

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To Ethel
Who showed me glimpses of heaven
as we walked together on earth

To all the people who have demonstrated the trueness of their hearts and the brilliance of their light.

Especially:

Linda. Your dedication, love, commitment, honor, loyalty, professionalism, and incredible laugh have helped me more than you will ever know. Thank you from the bottom of my soul.

BF. Thank you for filling my life with excitement, wonder, appreciation, and opportunities to experience and learn the various aspects of timeless and unconditional love.

Dorothea. You have touched me with your undying devotion in opening the eyes and hearts of many with your sacred works of healing.

Michael. Your words of wisdom and your gentle teachings continue to evolve my heart. May each step you take be filled with fulfillment.

Carol. This journey would have never happened if you hadnt opened the door. You have been a guide and a true and loving friend, who demonstrates love in all you do.

Mrs. Red Cloud. Thank you for reminding me of the many roles love and forgiveness play in incorporating the wholeness of who we are.

Joe and Jacquie. Thank you for watching over me with integrity, honesty, and friendshipI am forever grateful for friends like you.

Sabena. Not only am I forever blessed by your healing hands, but I am also honored by your commitment to and deep compassion for the human condition.

And to all my friends who stay behind the scenes, thank you for your trustful and ageless love. I hope I come somewhat close in returning the joys you have brought me.

JAMES

Since the publication of my first book, Talking to Heaven, in 1997, I have had the good fortune to travel around the world and share my message of life after death with thousands of people. I am still amazed at the number of people who are eager to learn more about psychic phenomena. Although many know the buzzwords (mental telepathy, clairvoyance, aura, and entity), they dont really understand what these terms mean. Many lack personal experience with such things; others experience them but cant identify what they are. Throughout time, shows featuring mediums and, today, movies like The Sixth Sense only intensify our curiosity about the spirit world. People want to make contact with their loved ones and seek validation of their own experiences with the spirits. They want to know that these are real, not figments of their imagination.

This book is intended to help you learn as much as possible about the world of spirit and to decide for yourself what is true or false. By drawing from personal experience, I hope to teach you how to hone your basic psychic abilities and sharpen your sixth sense. I also include testimony from others who have been touched by angels and visited by spirit guides.

More important, I have included exercises that you can practice to expand your own psychic awareness. As you progress, remain flexible and open. Some experiences you may have on your journey may be unusual or upsetting, but as you go, you will learn to understand and handle them. Each person develops in his and her own way, and at his or her own pace. Dont get discouraged when things dont happen right away. Remember: It took me years of trial and error and effort to be where I am today. As you learn to develop your psychic talents, using them will become a way of life.

For years I have been teaching that death is not the end of existence, nor is it something to be feared; there is indeed life beyond this physical world. Earth is only one part of a vast multidimensional universe. Spirit beings from other worlds are around us all the time. These spirits serve the human population in many ways, as teachers, companions, creative inspiration, and protection. It takes courage to look beyond our three-dimensional world and know that something greater exists. The more deeply involved you become with the spirit world, the more your habits and conditioning will change, and the more your life will become focused.

Let this book be your guide to developing your natural psychic gifts, to experiencing spirit contact firsthand, and to empowering yourself to live a better life. It is my desire that everyone experience the profound connection between heaven and earth, and that this book help you do so.

Living in New York in the late 1970s was one of the most exciting and educational experiences of my life. Disco was king. Platform shoes and feathered hairdos were in. I had signed a lease for my first apartment, and felt at long last that I was free and had no one to answer to but myself. It didnt matter that the apartment was located near Needle Park, a neighborhood where all the drug addicts hung out. Or that the patter of feet I heard at night belonged to rats scampering across my kitchen table. Or that the view from my window was of an old elevator air shaft. No matter how little I had, it was all mine.

I was twenty years old and ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple. Looking back, I am convinced that living in this kind of environment assisted me in becoming keenly aware of both external stimuli and my own inner voice. A young kid living in a dangerous part of the city had to be on his toes and rely on his senses.

At this stage of my life, I was not yet involved in psychic phenomenaespecially not communication with the spirit world. Aside from my occasional feelings about things, I didnt give much thought to the psychic realm. It wasnt something that had affected me personally since childhood. But my outlook on the sixth sense would soon change forever.

At the time, I was a student at Hunter College and worked nights as a stagehand on Broadway to supplement my income. Four days a week, I would take the subway to Grand Central Terminal and then transfer to an uptown train to Hunter College at 68th Street. If I timed it correctly, I had just a minute to catch a doughnut at the shop a flight above the platform before my train arrived. I would get on the second to the last car, where there were plenty of seats available. Because it was a pretty short ride, I would spend the time staring off into space, much like the rest of the passengers, and let myself be lulled by the rocking and rolling of the train.