ADC contact While Awake in a Quiet Meditative State

[Giulia]

Contacting the spirit world while in a quiet meditative state is, without doubt, the most widely used method among professional mediums in the 21st century. I have witnessed this personally in my work as an interpreter at mediumship training events in the UK and Italy, during which I attended hundreds of private sittings, as well as dozens of public demonstrations of mediumship and many lectures and workshops on the subject.

In the past, mediumship was often practised in a state of deep trance. Over the last few decades, professional mediums have moved towards communicating with the deceased and/or their spirit guides while maintaining contact with the physical plane and continuing to talk to their clients or even entire audiences. This falls in a category called ‘mental mediumship’ and is the method that has helped me to devise exercises that can help people have an ADC during meditation.

I would like to mention in this thread a few techniques to aid us in enhancing our perception whilst in a state of deep meditation or inner calm. This comes when we ‘reduce the volume’ of external stimuli—preferably when we are wide awake and well rested, so we do not fall prey to sleep.

I will also post a few simple relaxation exercises. I cannot overemphasise the importance of managing one’s stress levels and trying not to overwork, particularly when applying these techniques.

Some people might find it useful to allocate a specific time of day to this activity. This should not be after a meal, to ensure the body has finished digesting, and should not be practised under conditions that might make one drowsy. Creating a routine or ‘ritual’ helps accustom the body to relaxing under the same conditions so that, in time, you will be able to slip into the desired state of mind in just a few minutes.

It is also important to keep handy a notebook, diary or a voice recorder, to note down details one might forget once they have come out of your relaxed state. One may actually take notes while being are in a relaxed state: this is something I often do myself.

When I talk about ‘enhancing our perception’, I am not only referring to mental pictures, but to the entire spectrum of subjective and objective impressions, belonging to the four channels known as clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience and claircognizance.

One of the most important things I have learnt over the years about the way such connections take place is that Imagination is the most practical instrument we have at our disposal and the main means by which our loved ones in the Afterlife can communicate with us.

We are all familiar with what imagination can do. We use it every day and it allows us to open our minds to non-physical dimensions, making it an effective gateway to those on the other side.

Imagination is also a strong creative force both on the physical plane and in the spiritual dimension. Therefore, when we imagine a scene where we meet our loved ones in the spirit world, we are actively creating these places and, invited by our thoughts, our loved ones immediately come to meet us there, where we are waiting for them.

Several authors, including Sanaya Roman, Robert Moss and Bruce Moen, talk about the key role played by imagination in contacting our loved ones. Bruce Moen, creator and owner of the website www.afterlife-knowledge.com, was an engineer who, in his research into the Afterlife, was for many years a disciple of Robert Monroe, author of the book Journeys Out of the Body.

I am referring to an engineer, rather than to the teachings of a professional medium, because Moen’s tips are very down-to-earth and easy to follow. Moen, in particular, talks about the importance of ‘pretending that’ a certain thing is happening so that we can have access to what he refers to as the ‘non-physical world’.

Another important element is having a quiet confidence (this can be achieved through meditation), which enables us to tune out the stimuli of the material world for a while and tune into what interests us. It also allows us to break down that insidious wall of doubt that we all erect sometimes when we allow our critical earthly selves to take over. The simple meditation exercises I will sugegst are also designed to achieve this purpose.

Moen has written several books and held numerous conferences throughout the world illustrating his ideas and, thanks to his practical and down-to-earth approach, has often come up with suggestions that are much easier to understand compared to the often complex theory certified mediums need to study.

He refers to visualisation as non-physical sight.

Before making actual contact, he recommends a preliminary exercise to establish what kind of visualisation we have access to, since not everyone visualises mental images in the same way. This ‘warm-up exercise’ consists of visualising any object with our mind’s eye to establish how our ‘non-physical sight’ works.

In one of his posts from 2002, Moen writes that it is possible to visualise, for example, ‘an image of the number 12, or of a banana, anything. Once I see that image, whether it’s 3D, holographic, full colour, or the briefest fleeting, fuzzy, barely discernible, black and white, I assume my non-physical sense of sight is stimulated enough to use it....’

Of course, non-physical perception can also involve hearing (clairaudience) or a more general inner feeling, such as the sensation of being touched, caressed or hugged (clairsentience) or a thought or piece of information (claircognizance).

In my experience, it only takes one of the non-physical senses to be stimulated to activate the others, although we all tend to have one or two channels—or nonphysical senses—that are more predominant than the others.

Some very strong emotions can be stirred if we visualise a loved one. The emotions that arise after the loss of a loved one can sometimes be like a violent hurricane, uprooting all our convictions about the Afterlife. Nevertheless, if we can patiently and with perseverance achieve a state of trust and calm—and it is quite normal for this to take months if not years—the emotions evoked by remembering time spent with them can be extremely useful, because they enable us to tune into our subtler perception of the spirit world.

First, we should bear in mind that there is no real separation between our loved ones and us. We are all spirit, the only distinction being that we are incarnate spirits living in a particular time and space in our waking hours, whereas our loved ones are discarnate spirits not subject to the same shackles of time and space. Moreover, our loved ones are even closer to us than before; they are free of sickness, material needs and everyday concerns and preconceptions. They simply want to be near us and reassure us that they are fine. Thus, evoking the sensations we experienced when they were with us physically is a useful starting point.

Moen suggests pretending to talk to the person we want to contact, pretending to see them, pretending to ask them something and pretending to get an answer. For this, we should use the creative force of imagination. In other words, if we pretend that something is happening, we are laying the foundations for it to actually take place on the spiritual plane.

If, as is often the case, the images or sensations are fleeting or unclear, Moen suggests this analogy of a highway. When you are driving on a highway, you come across information about exits, service stations, etc. that you are likely to encounter along the way. You do not stop, turn around and go back to inspect these signposts; rather, you continue in the same direction, confident that you will find the exit, service station, etc. that you are interested in.

The same happens when we see fleeting images in our mind’s eye, get the feeling of words or snippets of sentences passing through our mind, and experience hunches, feelings or insights. They are like signposts indicating what lies ahead as we speed along on our journey. There is no need to go back and check them because they are not an end in themselves; they only serve to point us in the right direction.

Focusing mentally on each of the signposts we encounter in the quiet meditative state will bring up thoughts, ideas, sensations and emotions, allowing us to make sense of what is happening, as well as what is about to happen, on our journey—just as road signs tell us where we are, where we are going and who we are meeting.

At times, it may feel as though we are making it all up, but if we stick to the story and ask for proof from anyone we encounter, the story will unfold, take on a life of its own and eventually make sense to us.

In other words, Moen suggests that, as we are collecting impressions and information originally created by us and our imagination, details will emerge that we know we could not have invented. Once verified, these details provide confirmation that we really were in contact with the Afterlife.

I have learnt two important things from Bruce Moen. The first is that we do not all visualise images or perceive our contacts with the spirit world in the same way. Hence, it is useful to determine in what manner we visualise images or perceive certain sensations before we start.

For example, for many years I was sure mediums had mysterious powers that enabled them to see the deceased vividly and constantly, as if a 3D colour film were playing on demand in their minds or was projected onto ordinary reality. In fact, our connections with our loved ones in the Afterlife are much more complex and delicate, and vary from one person to the next and from one medium to the next.

To demonstrate this point, if I asked you to think about your first schoolteacher, what image or sensation would form in your mind? You might see her in your mind’s eye in the grey suit she wore on your first day of school; she stands at her desk with the blackboard behind her. You might hear her voice explaining some rule or other, or calling your name during registration. Or you might sense her presence next to you as she corrects your work. The image might be clear or just about discernible, or it might just be a quick flash.

However your teacher appears to you, be it in images, sounds, ideas or sensations, that is the way, or one of the ways, in which you perceive discarnate spirits, even if you are a professional medium. This is why Moen advises to perform the warm-up exercise I mentioned earlier, to see what happens when we visualise an object.

It is also important to remember that, just as in dreams, in this exercise, too, our perceptions might be symbolic in nature. In mediumship aimed at making contact with someone personally—as opposed to on behalf of someone else—the person concerned is usually best placed to interpret these symbols, since it is for him or her that they hold a specific meaning.

The second thing I learnt from Moen is that, if the images, voices or sensations are fleeting and unclear, we should not dwell on or try to focus on them. Instead, we should continue in quiet confidence and expect more to arise.

Now we come to a practical exercise. You want to get in touch with a loved one, feel their presence near you, talk to them and maybe ask them a few questions. Moen suggests that, after first relaxing and doing the warm-up exercise, you should sink into your mind and think back to a pleasant time when you met the person while they were still physically alive. Visualise every detail of the scene—the surroundings, the way the person was dressed, the way they looked at and talked to you, the sensations you got from them and the way you talked to them.

Relive the meeting in your mind. It might be a family dinner, a party, a time you went for a walk with them, a conversation you had. Use the very powerful instrument of imagination to pretend that the meeting is happening now. Many mediumistic accounts, along with my personal experiences out-of-body, confirm that there is a spiritual replica of our homes and all the places to which we are linked here on the physical plane. Kevin Williams, webmaster of one of one of the largest websites about NDEs (near-death.com) wrote to me in 2006 confirming to me that, based on his huge research about NDEs, our loved ones are immediately in tune with us whenever we look for them.

In other words, recreating the meeting on the spiritual plane should not take great effort, as you only have to imagine the places you enjoy, knowing that they exist and are intact, if not rejuvenated, more beautiful and more spiritualised on the subtler plane where your loved one lives.

The images you receive will partly be created by you, but will also contain input from your loved one. So, for example, if the spiritual place of your meeting with your loved one is different or begins to look different from the place you are familiar with, it may be that the other person is transmitting images of the place as it is on the spirit plane.

When you start to receive impressions, images, words, information, etc., make a mental note of them. It is important to record the details you receive as soon as possible, especially since you may not realise their significance there and then.

Remember: when the reducing valve in our brain loosens, things that normally seem extraordinary may appear normal. Otherwise, we might brush them to one side, believing them to be the figment of our imagination, only to find out later, after getting proof of their validity, that they provide information you could not have known any other way.

On 2 May 2002, I performed this exercise to communicate with a dear English friend of ours, who had died the previous month. For years, our family had been very close to him and his wife; every time we went to England, we saw each other and went out together. After his death in April, I met him almost immediately in an OBE in which he told me that his one regret was never having published a book. As a university professor, he had published several articles and even poems, but never a book. Incredibly, this fact was later mentioned in the obituary published by his university and in newspapers. However, this was after my OBE, so there was no other way I could have known about it.

On 2 May, as I was concentrating on him, using the technique described above, our friend told me that his wife would soon be joining him. I was so taken aback by this statement that I thought I had imagined it. We had spoken to his wife after his funeral and she was in good health. Nevertheless, I decided to tell my parents, who spoke to her regularly on the phone. About a month after this unpleasant revelation, we heard that our friend had been diagnosed with a brain tumour and was in hospital. I learnt only several months later that the diagnosis had been made on 2 May 2002, after she had been given a CAT scan following a fall.

My friend died on the evening of 19 June 2002, although we only found out a few days later. And on the night between 19 and 20 June, I had an OBE. I was standing outside my flat. In front of me, on the landing, was an open door leading into another flat that did not exist in the physical world, but the existence of which on the spiritual plane did not surprise me. A bright light came from the other flat. My friend who had died in April, and his wife who, as far as I knew, was still in a coma, stood in the doorway smiling and thanking me for taking an interest. At that moment, I had the clear sensation that the wife had also abandoned the physical plane and was happily reunited with her husband. A few days later, we learnt this was true.

I mention this event to illustrate how friendship can be the driving force behind our desire to stay in touch with someone after their physical death. Of course, it is right to assess every detail critically with our rational minds. However, noticing the details can be extremely satisfying when they turn out to be true, thus proving without a shadow of a doubt that our loved ones are alive in the Afterlife.

And if friendship is enough to help us to communicate, just imagine how much more effective strong family ties must be, such as those between parents and their children, husbands and wives, and siblings.

Lastly, I feel it is extremely important to practice this technique directly, and use it only if we are in a calm and tranquil state of mind, patiently cultivated by maintaining a healthy balance between our everyday lives and the significant moments we dedicate to our loved ones in the Afterlife—in the same way that we dedicate time to our friends and family here with us.

[Giulia]

You may wish to try this meditation after performing the grounding and cleansing exercise.

Visualise a blue light within you in the space of your heart. The blue light is you, your spirit, made of pure unconditional love. Begin to breathe slowly and imagine the blue light expanding. At first, it will fill your entire body, and then it will shine from the body and fill the room you are in.

If you are outdoors, visualise the blue light expanding to fill the area surrounding you. If you are indoors, visualise the blue light filling the whole building, then the neighbourhood and the whole city.

Now, regardless of wherever you are, watch the light extend beyond the clouds above and the Earth below you. See it fill the entire planet and grow until it fills the entire galaxy and then the universe.

This blue light is infinite.

As several great authors have said, ‘thoughts are things’, thanks to the creative force of thought.

When you have visualised the whole universe filled with your light, focus on this session, remembering that you are spirit, and the entire universe is spirit and comes from an infinite source of love. From your current vantage point, space and time do not exist, nor is there any separation from your loved ones or from any loving intention you wish to focus on.

At this point you can use the Imagination/Pretending exercise mentioned above.

[Giulia]

The following exercise comes from the book Psychic Energy by Joseph J. Weed (Parker Pub. Co., Inc., 1973). The author states that it allows the practitioner to gather psychic energy before making a request or prayer, but it is also a suitable aid to relaxation and concentration with the aim of achieving an ADC in a quiet meditative state.

If you feel uncomfortable about holding and releasing your breath as described in this exercise to the count of six, eight or twelve, I suggest you try to hold and release your breath for the number of seconds you feel easy about.

Make sure you will not be disturbed by others or by loud noises. Seat yourself in a straight-backed but comfortable chair so you can keep your back erect and relax, with your feet touching the floor. You can also lie during this exercise, but this may make it easier for you to fall into a dream state. Above all, make sure you never meditate while driving or when your full attention is required.

1.Centre your consciousness in your heart and visualise your entire chest area enveloped in a pink aura.

2.Take in a breath to the count of six while you hold this visualisation.

3.Hold your breath in for a count of twelve and, as you do so, raise the pink cloud to a point about three inches above the top of your head. (While you are holding your breath and visualising the cloud hovering over your head, you may find it beneficial to assemble all your force as if you were about to lift a very heavyweight and hold it in tension while you start to breathe out.)

4.Release your breath slowly to the count of eight and at the same time expand the pink cloud so that it includes your head and the upper part of your body.

5.When your breath is expelled and your lungs are empty, hold your breath out to the count of twelve and at the same time keep in your mind’s eye the visualisation of the shining pink cloud surrounding your head and upper body and descending gently so that it envelops your entire body.

6. Now, centre your consciousness in your throat and visualise a bright blue aura enveloping your throat and shoulders.

7. Take a breath to the count of six and hold the visualisation of the blue aura.

8. Hold your breath in for a count of twelve and as you do so raise the blue aura to a point about three inches above the top of your head. (While you are holding your breath and visualising the cloud hovering over your head, you may find it beneficial to assemble all your force as if you were about to lift a very heavy weight and hold it in tension while you start to breathe out.)

9. Release your breath slowly to the count of eight and at the same time expand the blue cloud so that it includes your head and the upper part of your body.

10. When your breath is expelled and your lungs are empty, hold your breath out to the count of twelve and at the same time maintain the visualisation of the bright blue aura enveloping your head and upper body and descending gently so that it envelops your entire body.

11. Now, centre your consciousness in your pituitary gland. This is in the skull right above the bridge of the nose and between the eyebrows about one-half inch back of the forehead. As you do, visualise a brilliant white light around your head and count six while your breath in.

12. Hold your breath for a count of twelve and raise the white aura to a point about three inches above the top of your head. (While you are holding your breath and visualising the cloud hovering over your head, you may find it beneficial to assemble all your force as if you were about to lift a very heavy weight and hold it in tension while you start to breathe out.)

13.Release your breath to the count of eight and, as you do so, feel the pituitary centre join with the centre above your head so that they become as one, while the light created by this fusion lights up the whole room.

14.When your breath is expelled, hold your lungs empty for the count of twelve and see that brilliant sun-like aura expand so that it includes your head and the entire upper part of your body above the waist and then descend gently so that it envelops your entire body.

Now relax and remain seated in a quiet meditative state.

At this point you should feel calm, focused and ready to concentrate on the contact you wish to make.