February 2023 Meeting Notes
This month twelve of us gathered for our monthly meeting.
Before moving on- we spent a bit of time discussing the siblings and I wanted to share this link to the TCF Private Facebook groups. There are quite a few and a sibling one is included. Sometimes you can just share the link and tell them to do with it what they like- you’d be surprised how many sibs seeks support without letting their parents know about it. https://www.compassionatefriends.org/find-support/online-communities/private-facebook-groups/
Additionally, before I forget- the national conference will be held July 7-9th in Denver Colorado. I couldn’t find anymore details but they should be forthcoming.
So- yes, twelve of us came together for this month’s meeting whose topic was “Signs & Triggers.” Interestingly enough, when I was looking for some info to share, I came across a short interview with David Kessler, Grief Specialist, in which he discussed whether the actual word, “Trigger,” was indeed a trigger all by itself. I guess the subject came up amongst grief specialists who responded to the mass shootings that have seemed to become pretty common. When they spoke about triggers, they noticed a perceptible change in the faces staring back at them. It then occurred to them that the word trigger, used to a group of parents who lost a child to gun violence, may not be the best choice. Wondering what you all think?
I also came across a list of common signs, written by another psychic medium. It was interesting- especially the one about buzzing noises in our ears—as one with long term tinnitus, it never occurred to me it was an annoying way for my son to communicate! Others were: appearance of certain animals- perhaps ones with special meaning to our loved one; placing common items in our path, such as coins, feathers, rocks; fragrances suddenly appearing and disappearing; dream visits; meaningful numbers occurring over and over; sudden feeling of being loved and at peace; messages in the form of thoughts that pop up in your head; weird happenings with electrical things; and the buzzing noises in our ears. Any of those ring true for you?
We began talking about signs. One dad shared a book he purchased, actually called “Signs” by Laura Lynn Jackson. She is a psychic medium and has written a few books that I could find. We will be ordering the book for our library (thank you, Kim!) I want to point out that not everyone believes in afterlife communication and that is fine. We talk a lot about how we all differ in our beliefs, in how we love and how we grieve. Some signs people shared:
1) Dad shared how the family was at a cabin when they were notified. It was a gloomy day but when they walked outside it was like a thin part of the sky opened and the sun shone down just on them.
2) Same dad shared that although it was daytime, raccoons were appearing in front of them, on the porch, etc. Their daughter’s favorite animal was a raccoon and she had stuffed ones that were special to her.
3) Same dad also share that white gulls formed a group just over their home (maybe their other daughter’s home) and just flew around and around.
4) A number of people shared that they find coins. One mom said she was finding pennies and offered thanks to her son but suggested she could use something larger than pennies.so she began finding quarters and even bills! Another mom shared that her son collected coins and his friends often put quarters on his headstone. She finds random quarters all over the places she goes. I shared that a TCF dad in Texas finds pennies pretty much everywhere he goes and considers them messages from his daughter.
5) A number of other animal sightings- butterflies, deer, cats….and not just that they saw these animals, but more the way in which they appeared, or the place or timing. I was packing the car to go to a TCF national conference. Another mom and I were standing next to the car chatting and a butterfly came down right between us- and just hung out.
6) One dad shared that at his son’s funeral, which was a joint funeral with his 2 friends- there were 10s of hundreds of people paying respect and somehow their names came to this dad even though he had never met them.
7) Another person shared they were driving and stopped at a light, she observed their license plate which said, “I am here.”
8) Another person shared that they work from home- desk in front of a window. Routinely a female cardinal visits and chirps outside the window until she goes over to acknowledge the bird.
9) And, another mom shared that her son had a vice- smoking cigarettes. She hated it and made it clear to her son she thought he should quit- which he didn’t. One day a room in her house seemed to fill with smoke….cigarette smoke. She yelled for her husband but by the time he got there the smoke was gone. Soon after he was in the tv room and she was in the basement. He yelled for her to come up and when she did he told her that he thought her son had visited again. The TV room had filled with smoke but by the time she got upstairs it was dissipated.
So- are these incidents really visits from beyond? I guess we will never know for sure but it seems there is no harm in believing so and there is no harm in not believing so. We each find our own path and no one can tell us how best to navigate it- and no one should try to do so. So, for me, I leave open the possibility that there is much we don’t understand, that we cannot completely explain but it gives me peace to think my son can occasionally communicate with me.
Reminders:
As soon as we have a location for our February 16th dinner out, I will send out an email.
Our half day workshop with Stacy Sims is filling up so if you would still like to attend please let me know ASAP. The date is Sunday, February 19th from 10am – 2pm.
Take care-
Karen