van Praagh - Adventures of the soul : journeys through the physical and spiritual dimensions

Free e-Newsletters
from Hay House, the Ultimate
Resource for Inspiration

Be the first to know about Hay Houses dollar deals, free downloads, special offers, affirmation cards, giveaways, contests and more!

	Get exclusive excerpts from our latest releases and videos from Hay House Present Moments.
	Enjoy uplifting personal stories, how-to articles and healing advice along with videos and empowering quotes within Heal Your Life.
	Have an uplifting story to tell and a passion for writing? Sharpen your writing skills with insider tips from Your Writing Life.

Visit www.hayhouse.com to sign-up today

ALSO BY JAMES VAN PRAAGH

Books

How to Heal a Grieving Heart (with Doreen Virtue)*
Talking to Heaven
Reaching to Heaven
Healing Grief
Heaven and Earth
Meditations with James Van Praagh
Looking Beyond
Ghosts Among Us
Unfinished Business
Growing Up in Heaven

Card Decks

The Souls Journey Lesson Cards*
Talking to Heaven Mediumship Cards
(with Doreen Virtue)*

Online Courses

How to Heal a Grieving Heart*
Enhancing Your Intuition
Life After Loss
Mastering Meditation

Downloadable Meditations

Divine Love
Meditation Tools
Soul Discoveries
Spirit Speaks

*Available from Hay House

Please visit:
Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com
Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au
Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk
Hay House South Africa: www.hayhouse.co.za
Hay House India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Jamess website: www.vanpraagh.com

Copyright 2014 by James Van Praagh

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast Books: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Cover design: Leanne Siu Anastasi Interior design: Tricia Breidenthal

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4019-4470-4

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1st edition, September 2014

Printed in the United States of America

To Debbie Ford.
Thank you for bringing
the shadows into the light.
Love, James

Those of you who have read my previous books will find this one to be a little different.

The basis of my other books has been the thousands of readings Ive done as a professional medium over the last 30 years. When my first bestseller, Talking to Heaven, exploded onto the scene back in 1997, the subject of talking to the dead and mediumship was not part of our cultural zeitgeist. Fast-forward to 2014, and Ghost Whisperer and Medium have aired for several seasons each, The Sixth Sense has been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, the movie Ghost has been adapted into a Broadway musical, and other popular mediums (many of whom I count as friends) are sharing their gifts with the world.

Ive stopped doing private readings now (except for the occasional charity event), and Ive focused my energy on training other people to develop their own psychic gifts andif they wishto start on their journey to help others. I get so much satisfaction out of opening minds to the wonders of Spirit that I tour the world presenting lectures about spirituality. And, of course, during those events, I give demonstrations of my ability to make contact with the consciousnesses of those who no longer inhabit this physical dimension.

That really is what most of the people who come to my lectures want to see, but I always give them a healthy dose of what really matters: the truth that there is no death and that what we believe about our lives on Earthabout this being our true natureis just an illusion. We are eternal souls that have no beginning and no end, but while were incarnated in this physical dimension, we are only aware of now. The wholeness of who we really are is filtered through our human senses, so we are not capable of seeing the big picture.

As I will recount in this book, there are ways we can get glimpses of our true nature: through meditation, out-of-body experiences, and the accounts of near-death-experience survivors; by being regressed to past lives; and from information channeled via mediums. As a person who has been blessed with the ability to communicate with souls who have transitioned to the Spirit realms, I personally cannot deny the experiences I have had. If it wasnt happening to me, I would be skeptical, too.

If you were to ask me what Ive learned from my career as a medium, it would be that the most important thing we humans can do is to utilize the energy of love. Earth is a very busy place, and were constantly bombarded with challenges and obstacles. We are rewarded and encouraged when we separate ourselves from the pack. We are tempted to equate money or fame with success, but that is a false god. The Beatles summed it up very eloquently: All you need is love.

Id like you to think of your soul as a big, long river. As it flows and meanders, sometimes it stops to pool. Think of that as an incarnation in the physical. After a while, the flow starts up again, until it reaches another pool. But there is always movement, there is always a destination, there is always growth. The river can bend and turn, but it does have an ultimate goal: to be united with the sea the whole. Likewise, the mission of your soul is utilize the energy of love in order to make a successful return home to