- Dec 27, 2015
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I've stated elsewhere that the night my own father died, he appeared in my room. He started with an apology for years of deliberate cruelty, we talked and argued, and at the end he gave this terrifying scream and then just disappeared.
I could see him, and I could also see through him. I still remember being able to see an old chipboard bookcase through him.
Having said that, I thought I might relate two experiences of a Catholic psychiatrist I go to, originally for depression, but now it's more of a spiritual chin wag. Like me, he's a convert from Protestantism, but he's been in the Catholic Church a lot longer than I have.
I've also had the experience of a voice saying something very clearly a couple of times, and it certainly didn't come from me. On one occasion, when I (blush) had a crush on a quite unsuitable young lady (for me that is) in the local church, I was complaining and whining about this in my mind. A voice just cut right across my thoughts, and said "Bob! Is (young lady) SUITED to you??" with a distinct emphasis on the word "suited". In other words, "Forget it!", which echoed what my pastor had been trying to tell me.
So that sets the scene for the psychiatrist's experiences.
1. A few years ago I told him about the "voice" and he remarked, "That's interesting. Did I tell you about my experience?"
He hadn't so he began. He was sitting in his office in Wickham Street, which in Brisbane has long been known as the local specialist's area, a bit like Harley Street in London I suppose. He was typing away on his computer, when a voice just suddenly said to him "Go to Maclean!" He said it was quite clear, and there no doubt about the message. It was actually fairly demanding.
The trouble was that he wasn't even sure which Maclean the voice was referring to - North or South Maclean not far from where I live, Maclean over the NSW border on the Richmond River, or some other Maclean.
So he just noted it. Now as a psychiatrist with spiritual gifts and discernment, he gets involved in family healing masses, as he believes actions of our ancestors can affect subsequent generations. About two weeks after the "voice", he was at a healing mass in a town called Lismore, in northern NSW. After the mass, an aboriginal woman came up to him and said "I don't want to make a nuisance of myself, or cause any trouble, but I seem to be getting told you should go go Maclean".
Since he'd been primed by the voice in the office a fortnight before, he went with her to Maclean. There's some island in the river there which used to be used as a lockup for aboriginals in the early days of settlement, and he said there was some unfinished spiritual business there. But in the long run he thought it was mainly to help her, as she'd recently become a Christian and was copping a bit of flack from some of her own people.
So I wasn't the only one to hear "voices".
2. I was told this one just this Wednesday, when I saw him for our latest discussion.
He attends a Catholic Church in a near northside suburb. He said to me "Something strange happened last weekend." The priest announced a local parishioner had died just that morning. The psychiatrist knew her not just as a parishioner, but also as a patient, or former patient (I'm not sure which).
But then he said "She was in the church". He said she was sitting just in front of him, and it seemed to him was trying to get his attention. Like my father he said he could see her, but he could also see through her. After a while she seemed to give up and moved across to the other side of the church. He thought she had relatives sitting on the other side.
There was no exchange of words though, whereas my father and I had a full blown conversation, much of which I can still remember 38 years later.
Handy when you've got a Catholic psychiatrist who shares some experiences with you.
I could see him, and I could also see through him. I still remember being able to see an old chipboard bookcase through him.
Having said that, I thought I might relate two experiences of a Catholic psychiatrist I go to, originally for depression, but now it's more of a spiritual chin wag. Like me, he's a convert from Protestantism, but he's been in the Catholic Church a lot longer than I have.
I've also had the experience of a voice saying something very clearly a couple of times, and it certainly didn't come from me. On one occasion, when I (blush) had a crush on a quite unsuitable young lady (for me that is) in the local church, I was complaining and whining about this in my mind. A voice just cut right across my thoughts, and said "Bob! Is (young lady) SUITED to you??" with a distinct emphasis on the word "suited". In other words, "Forget it!", which echoed what my pastor had been trying to tell me.
So that sets the scene for the psychiatrist's experiences.
1. A few years ago I told him about the "voice" and he remarked, "That's interesting. Did I tell you about my experience?"
He hadn't so he began. He was sitting in his office in Wickham Street, which in Brisbane has long been known as the local specialist's area, a bit like Harley Street in London I suppose. He was typing away on his computer, when a voice just suddenly said to him "Go to Maclean!" He said it was quite clear, and there no doubt about the message. It was actually fairly demanding.
The trouble was that he wasn't even sure which Maclean the voice was referring to - North or South Maclean not far from where I live, Maclean over the NSW border on the Richmond River, or some other Maclean.
So he just noted it. Now as a psychiatrist with spiritual gifts and discernment, he gets involved in family healing masses, as he believes actions of our ancestors can affect subsequent generations. About two weeks after the "voice", he was at a healing mass in a town called Lismore, in northern NSW. After the mass, an aboriginal woman came up to him and said "I don't want to make a nuisance of myself, or cause any trouble, but I seem to be getting told you should go go Maclean".
Since he'd been primed by the voice in the office a fortnight before, he went with her to Maclean. There's some island in the river there which used to be used as a lockup for aboriginals in the early days of settlement, and he said there was some unfinished spiritual business there. But in the long run he thought it was mainly to help her, as she'd recently become a Christian and was copping a bit of flack from some of her own people.
So I wasn't the only one to hear "voices".
2. I was told this one just this Wednesday, when I saw him for our latest discussion.
He attends a Catholic Church in a near northside suburb. He said to me "Something strange happened last weekend." The priest announced a local parishioner had died just that morning. The psychiatrist knew her not just as a parishioner, but also as a patient, or former patient (I'm not sure which).
But then he said "She was in the church". He said she was sitting just in front of him, and it seemed to him was trying to get his attention. Like my father he said he could see her, but he could also see through her. After a while she seemed to give up and moved across to the other side of the church. He thought she had relatives sitting on the other side.
There was no exchange of words though, whereas my father and I had a full blown conversation, much of which I can still remember 38 years later.
Handy when you've got a Catholic psychiatrist who shares some experiences with you.
