Discover the ten most common signs your loved one is visiting you.
Over the years I’ve heard countless stories from people of all backgrounds about how their deceased loved ones have made their presence known. The aim of these communications is always the same, your loved ones want to draw close to you to bring you reassurance, and love.
Knowing that your loved one is visiting you can bring immense peace and comfort. It can transform the dark pain of grief and even change spiritual and religious beliefs. So I thought I would share with you the most common signs your loved one is visiting you.
1. Strange phenomena
It is very common after a loved one dies to experience strange phenomena. Orbs (or balls of light – considered to be manifestation of energy) can appear, hover or move around a room. Orbs can often be seen in photographs even though no one noticed anything in the room when the photo was taken. Many people also speak of seeing something move in the corner of their eye. Others see a sparkling or shimmering light, however, nothing is there when they turn to look.
Hearing footsteps and doors closing as well as knocks, bangs and other such noises is a regular occurrence. Equipment that isn’t turned on can make noises and even turn on. There can even be knocks on doors and windows (with no one and nothing there to explain it). A friend of mine would wake in the night to hear the radio had turned itself on and play Classic FM, not the local radio station she listened to. Many, many people hear their name called or hear their loved ones voice. These are all ways your loved one is letting you know they are close.
Clocks and watches often stop, sometimes at specific or symbolic time. The opposite can also happen, objects that haven’t worked for years can suddenly start working. Many people also report that a particular object such as a ring or ornament moves into a different position and even a different location. Things you know you left in a certain place can disappear only to reappear later on.
2. Fragrance and aromas
Scent is a powerful trigger of memories and this is one of the most common ways in which our loved ones in the afterlife can let us know they are there. You can pick up such scents anywhere from your home, your car to your work space. Common aromas people speak of smelling include:
- Cigarette or tobacco smoke
- A particular perfume or cologne.
- The fragrance of certain flower
- The smell of a favourite food they associate with someone they have lost
- The scent of hobbies, jobs or activities they associate with their loved one when they were alive
A co-worker of mine once said she knew if she smelt petrol fumes she knew her deceased son was around – he was mad about off road motor bike racing.
3. Dreams
It is much easier for the spirit of your loved one to connect with you in your dream state than it is for them to reach you on the physical plane. Sometimes your loved may appear in the background of your dream, however, it is also possible to have much more intimate contact with them where important messages, insights and even symbolic gifts can be given directly. Either of these encounters can leave a lasting impression with us and unlike normal dreams spiritual dreams are clear, coherent often contextual and the memory of them does not fade over time.
There are no rules to the spirit world revealing themselves to us in dreams. It is possible for you to see groups and combinations of friends and loved ones. It is even possible to see babies, infants and children that have passed over. Even the spirit of children lost or terminated, for whatever reason, in pregnancy! It is also very common to dream of someone only to find out in the following days that they passed away on or around that night or date. A friend of mine dreamt she put her brother on a train and waved him off. In the morning she was told he had died in the night from a heart attack.
4. Sensing a presence or even feeling a touch
I think loved ones nearly always come and visit us, most often we are so distracted in grief or just busy juggling life’s demands that we can’t sense it. The ethereal presence and signals of a loved one who has passed away can be very subtle. People have said to me it’s a “strange feeling in my tummy” others that it’s an intangible, intuitive sense. It can also be much more powerful. Many speak of the energy in the room shifting when a loved one draws close (a spaciousness, a lightness, a sense of calm) and they “just know” they are not alone. Changes in air pressure, temperature, tingling or buzzing sensations, goose bumps, cold or warm wafts of air around you or through your body – these are just some of the ways your physical and spiritual bodies can detect the presence of a loved one.
Many people have told me that they have been gently touched. A brush against their arm, a hand on the shoulder or their hair being stroked. Some even sense a bed sinking as if someone has sat on it. This is usually comforting, with nearly 99% of people knowing who is trying to communicate. One man felt his grandfather near his right shoulder, often smelling pipe tobacco and seeing smoke swirls. He said, “It took away my fear of dying, for I know there is life after death and he will be there when my time comes.”
5. Unexpected sounds
Some speak of hearing a whisper close to their ear, others the voice is far away others hear their loved ones voice inside their head. A friend of mine occasionally hears the clink of ice in a crystal, brandy tumbler, her father’s favourite tipple. She only ever hears this when she is super stressed and knows her father is saying he is nearby. So it’s not just voices that you may hear. It could be noises associated with the jobs, tools or activities that you associate with the person when they were alive.
6. Meditation and alpha states
When you are deep in meditation, breath work or prayer your brain drops into an, “alpha state.” This calm and focused state is characterised by relaxed, yet alert brain activity conducive to deep mental and spiritual connections. Over the years I have spoken to many people who have told me their loved ones have appeared in their meditations to say hello and sometimes goodbye. One lady I knew said she would always say her prayers at night and would on occasion ‘see’ her deceased sister kneeling by her side as they had as children to pray together. There is a meditation I have outlined in how to connect with your spirit guides. You can follow this meditation but ask for your loved one to connect with you rather than your guides.
7. Partial and even full spirit visitations
My flat mate once woke in the night and saw her grandfather standing by her bed. She said he looked solid and real not at all like a ghost which would have scared her. He smiled at her and she said she smiled back before rolling over and going straight back to sleep. In the morning she said she couldn’t believe she had gone straight back to sleep!
Our loved ones can appear to us both in our mind’s eye and in front of us as seemingly real human beings. In the above case as a solid looking version of themselves but sometimes as a more hazy, transparent and see through form. Often they appear not as the elderly and or deathly ill person we lost but as younger versions of themselves glowing with youth, strength and vitality. Our loved ones often choose to show themselves in the prime of the life. My first spiritual teacher always sees the form of her first husband come to stand behind her when she is about to give Reiki. In life he had been a sailor and she knows when he stands, ‘on watch’ he is protecting her.
8. Strange electrical activity
At the end of the day we are all just energy, death means we transfer from one vibration of energy to another. It makes sense therefore that those in the spirit realm find it easy to manipulate electricity. Light bulbs flickering or blowing repeatedly, power coming on and off and all sorts of unusual and inexplicable disturbances with electrical devices like the TV, radio, phones and computers etc., can be signs from our loved one. pay attention if your electrical devices start to behave unusually.
9. Signs and symbols
I think we are surrounded by signs and symbols every day but are generally so busy we don’t notice them. They are often subtle and easily missed. There are many signs and symbols that are commonly experienced:
- White feathers and always associate those with my father and my spirit guides, I love how they can literally float right across my face as if out of nowhere!
- Certain butterflies, insects, birds or animals
- Particular songs
- Finding coins
- Things disappearing and reappearing like earrings, rings and keys
- The repetition of numbers like 11:11 or patterns like 2121 possibly even number combinations that relate to special dates like birthdays, anniversaries or the date or time of death
Sometimes the most bizarre things can happen. Many years ago I tiptoed into my son’s bedroom to put his freshly washed baby grows in his cupboard. It was night-time and as I added to small stack of clothes a pocket book guide of the ‘Celestine Prophecy’ fell out and hit my bare foot. I have no recollection of ever buying or being gifted this tiny book and I have no idea how it came to be there. I felt it was a sign from my dad as I was feeling very low at the time.
10. Children and pets
Children are often believed to see spirits more easily than adults due to their open-mindedness and fewer conditioned beliefs about reality. They live in the present moment and are highly sensitive energetic and emotional barometers. So be open to the possibility that they can see, hear and even talk to the spirit world. The best thing to do if this happens is not to shut it down but to engage in their reality and listen to what they have to share.
It is also very common for animals to pick up on the energy of a spirit. Unusual behaviour in which they respond, interact or become hyper fixated on a spot or track a movement are common signs they are seeing spirit. Only you know your pet and can identify unusual or curious behaviour. I believe it’s even possible for deceased pets to come back and visit us as well as the fury loved ones they have left behind on the earth.
Conclusion
As we journey through the life and experience the loss of loved ones, it’s comforting to be able to recognise the subtle signs that they are still with us. These gentle whispers from the other side. Embrace these signs with an open heart, for they are the beautiful threads that weave the tapestry of our eternal bonds. By staying open and attuned to these moments, you can honour the enduring connection with those who have passed. You can also find solace and peace in the knowledge that they walk beside you, guiding and loving you from beyond the veil.
I hope that this blog brings you comfort, and maybe validation. If you enjoyed reading it do subscribe to our monthly newsletter by adding your email to the signup form in the footer below. You might also like to join our wonderful META community
Namaste
Fiona
