Crossing over

When Da's friend (SNC) was still alive, he used to offer us the hospitality of his lovely home in Canningvale, Perth, Western Australia whenever we visited Perth.

SNC was a good friend of ours. He was from Seremban in West Malaysia but he obtained his Australian citizenship many years ago. He was an excellent chef and I used to enjoy helping him to prepare meals (or rather, standing around watching him prepare his curries, etc and asking him endless questions, all of which he answered with patience). His favourite phrase was "curry in a hurry" (other than "no worries", of course). Are you familiar with Baba's curry? Well, the recipe for the curry was actually SNC's aunt's own recipe. According to SNC, the company that sells Baba's curry bought the recipe from her and paid her royalties.

SNC passed away suddenly a few years ago. He had undergone a heart bypass surgery which was successful. However, when he was recuperating at his sister's home in Perth, a blot clot from another part of his body started to move (probably due to the blood vessels having been cleared after the heart bypass) and it was this clot that ultimately killed him.

Da and I were stunned when we received the news of his sudden death. I could not help breaking down in tears. We were unable to book a flight to Perth at short notice to attend his funeral but we requested a friend there to help us say a message to SNC during the friend's eulogy to SNC. We were told that there was a very big turnout at his funeral.

Da and I have spoken about SNC often over the years that followed, always with fond memories and at the same time, sadness at a life that was taken away in its prime. SNC was cremated with some of his ashes thrown into the Canning River in Perth and the rest brought back to Seremban. We do not know his family's address in Seremban nor do we have his sister's contact details in Perth. As such, when we visited Perth in a subsequent year, we were unable to pay our respects to SNC at, say, a columnbaria or cemetery, to our regret.

Whenever we visited SNC in Perth, we would watch the show "Crossing Over with John Edward" on Australian television. John Edward McGee, Jr, better known as John Edward, is an author from the United States of America. He is also a television personality. In the show "Crossing Over with John Edward", he is portrayed as a psychic medium who is able to communicate with the spirits of deceased relatives of the audience members. I have watched several episodes of this show over the years that we visited SNC. We would often see the audience members break down in tears and feeling relief when certain issues that had been burdening them for years concerning their deceased relatives were lifted during the show.

Recently, just as I was about to wake up for work, I saw SNC very clearly in my dreams. He was wearing a striped green knit shirt and smiling broadly at me. It was amazing because I remember that when SNC was alive, he used to wear striped knit shirts very often. In my dream, SNC even came over towards me and gave me a big hug, as if to reassure me that everything is okay with him. I was already half awake by then and I remember stiffening my back as I received the hug as I was not sure whether what I was going through was real. However, I felt the hug distinctly. Thank you very much, SNC, for taking the trouble to let us know that you are at peace and you are happy. (Gosh... I am starting to tear as I am typing this post.)

Have you ever had experiences where a deceased relative or friend has come to you in a dream and given you signs that everything is okay with them? Wouldn't you love to be able to talk to them one more time to ask them how they are and to tell them how much you love them?

When my daddy passed away, my family had several incidents of my daddy appearing to us in a dream, some of which were as follows:-

(a) On the 7th day of my daddy's death, my mommy and I had similar dreams. I cannot remember what her dream was. However, in my dream, my daddy was in a coffin in church. He got up from the coffin and he walked out into the open. I remember running after my daddy and as I ran out of the church, I woke up.

(b) My youngest brother dreamed that the telephone rang. When he answered the call, he heard my daddy call his name. My brother was very young then and he was perhaps shocked and he then woke up from his dream before he could hear what else my daddy had to say.

(c) I dreamt that I was sitting at the back seat of a car and my daddy was driving. He was speaking but I could not hear clearly what he was saying.

When my beloved cousin (PL) was diagnosed with lung cancer, we were taken by surprise. Her career was taking off and she was not a smoker (no one in her family is a smoker). I prayed constantly for her recovery. Initially, she was very positive (I am humbled by her strength) and accepted the invasive medical treatments with good nature. However, when she lost feeling in her legs, I think the fight went out of her. I remember that I was in the office when my mommy called me to tell me the bad news. I raised my voice in shock and then I could not stop crying. After her funeral, stories after stories came from relatives and friends about how she appeared to them in their dreams to let them know that everything was okay with her. For example:-

(a) My aunt (PL's mother) was travelling in a car once and she was thinking of PL. At that moment, she happened to look up into the sky and saw clouds forming the letter "M" (for "mother"?). This is simply amazing.

(b) PL had picked up the skill of ear candling and she used to do ear candling for her sister (HL). One night, HL could feel in her ear the same feeling that one gets when one is undergoing ear candling (I know what HL is talking about because I have tried ear candling at the beauty salon before). In the family, only PL knows how to do ear candling.

(c) PL came to me in a dream one night. However, I cannot remember exactly what she said - such a pity.

A week before my dearest grandma passed away, I suddenly felt a desire to visit her in Muar even though my family and I would already be going to Muar in about a month's time for Chinese New Year. At that time, I was very busy at work but somehow, I wanted to see grandma. My brothers were not free, so my mommy, my aunt and I drove to Muar and we spent a very enjoyable weekend with grandma. I remember telling grandma, as we were leaving, "see you in less than a month's time". At that time, my relatives laughed and reminded me that Chinese New Year was a month away and not less than a month away. How prophetic my words turned out to be! A week later, my grandma suddenly gasped for breath one morning and passed away in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. My grandma was the kindest person around and she was simply so amazing and she loved her grandchildren so much that I cannot believe that she is no longer with us. We miss her greatly. Among the many amazing encounters that took place were the following:-

(a) After grandma's funeral, my grandma appeared in a dream to my mother's cousin (who was looked after by grandma when she was a child and who now lives in Minnesota, United States of America). We all teased my aunt that grandma has now gone around the world.

(b) My mommy and some of my relatives smelt the talcum powder that grandma used when they were in grandma's room.

(c) Some relatives who can "sense the presence of spirits" could sense grandma's presence in the home that she lived in for many years.

(d) On the 7th day of grandma's death, the painting of the Goddess of Mercy (which had faded after so many years) suddenly became illuminated and the outline of the clothes of Goddess of Mercy were clearly visible.

Sometimes, amazing things happen at funerals / wakes, eg.

(a) the dripping wax from the candles form angel wings;

(b) the deceased starts to smile as the wake progresses, even to the extent of revealing his/her teeth;

(c) the deceased's fingers automatically close over a prayer bead that was placed in the hand a few days after death;

(d) footsteps can be heard in the dead of the night during the wake;

(e) the presence of the deceased can be felt by persons who can "sense the presence of spirits";

(f) the temperature in the room suddenly dips;

(g) the dripping wax from the candles form a group of persons kneeling and praying.

Remark: I placed a lot of thought before I typed this post. It is not an easy topic for me and it took me several days to come to a decision to type this post and to publish it. To all my loved ones and friends who have gone on to your rest - you will always be in our hearts and minds. May the Lord bless you and may you abide in the shadow of His Almighty Wings forever. Rest in peace.