Kitchen Capers

Hello my friends,

Last week I told you a story about my sister Laura, in Spirit, “swinging by” to say hello on the porch glider. If you missed the post, you can still catch up here.

This week, I’m going to share another story about what happened the following Sunday.  I know, right? Sunday, again. I’ve never noticed Sunday to be more active than any other day for Spirit activity. Perhaps I should pay more attention.

So, to be specific, this story takes place on Sunday, March 23^rd. My sister Connie was gone for the weekend, and I was enjoying a leisurely day with Jack, my cat. I had just finished yoga in the sun drenched living room and was in a very smoothed-out mental space. I walked into the kitchen to get my water bottle, and there on the tile floor, just in front of the dishwasher was an embroidered name badge with the name J. Buck on it. Hmm…I have a brother named Jim Buck, but why would his name badge suddenly appear on the floor of Connie’s kitchen? Odd. I had been in the kitchen several times already that morning and it definitely had not been present earlier.

Now having been trained as a Spiritualist medium, I am obliged to take a scientific approach to possible Spirit activity, and do what I can to rule out all more conservative explanations before concluding that it was Spirit.  Spiritualists are all about proof and evidence of Spirit communication, if you didn’t know. So let me lay out the facts as I know them or learned them on that day, and you can draw your conclusions along with me. Fair enough?

• First, I texted the photo above to my brother Jim to ask if he recognized this badge. I should note that Jim has never been to this house, but that doesn’t mean something of his couldn’t end up in at a sibling’s home, right? I also couldn’t recall a job that Jim might have had, or any club to which he may have belonged, for which he’d have worn such a badge. Regardless, I had to check. Jim responded to my text with, “It doesn’t look familiar.”  So, not Jim’s.
• Next, I texted Connie the same photo to see if she had a clue. “No, have no idea. That is really strange,” she responded. Ok. So, also not Connie’s.
• There was certainly the possibility that Jack—my ever-curious cat who leaves no nook and cranny unexplored—found it

  

  somewhere and deposited it where I discovered it. He’s always got his paws in something he shouldn’t, but if neither Connie nor Jim recognized it, where would Jack have found it? I should perhaps add that Jack is not particularly gentle with objects he finds, and this was one squeaky clean J.Buck name badge. Jack? I don’t think so…

So, if not Jim, Connie, or Jack…did I put it there unknowingly? I thought back over the hours that preceded the appearance of the name badge. I had gone shopping the day before and just that morning had swept the last empty grocery bags from the counter. Could the name badge have belonged to a grocery store worker and fallen into one of my bags? Yes, that’s possible. So, I dug out the bags I’d just tucked into the “bag of bags” (we all have them, right?). From the logo on the bags, which have no outlet stores in the area, I realized that these bags had come from Ron’s Warehouse, otherwise known around here as simply “Ron’s.” Now, Ron’s is a super fun store to poke around in because they buy large lots of unsold goods, and have something in every category of products at great prices. For my friends back East, think Building 19. Ron’s also accumulates and uses plastic bags from every possible retailer you can imagine. So that means that if the name badge came in a bag that came from Ron’s, it could feasibly have come from almost anywhere. Impossible to track. And I’m pretty sure the good folks at Ron’s don’t wear name badges.

And then, there’s that crazy coincidence of the name itself. I mean, what are the odds that someone from a store (who knows where) lost their brand new name badge with the same surname as mine, and the initial of my brother? P-r-e-t-t-y slim, that’s what they are.

So, that was as far as I could go with the information available to me. I suspected Spirit, but didn’t know yet who it was or why they would have brought this badge to me….until I smelled smoke, that is.

About 30 minutes after the appearance of the name badge, I was dissembling the coffee maker on the center island in the kitchen. I was standing literally inches from where I’d found the name badge. Just as I headed over to the sink with the coffee pot, I got a whiff of cigarette smoke. I knew there were no smokers around, but I guess it’s instinct to look about. Jack and I were alone and we don’t smoke. No smoker had probably ever been in the house in years, if ever. Did I imagine it, I wondered? Maybe. So, I went ahead and washed the coffee pot, shook it out and turned back around to put it back in the coffee maker. There it was again—the distinct smell of cigarette smoke, in the very same spot! Aha…I got it. Mystery solved.

The use of clairalience in Spirit Communication

Spirits often use a smell or fragrance to communicate their presence. Some use their favorite perfume or cologne. Some use a smell that is connected to their work. For example, a baker might bring in the smell of bread; a garage mechanic, the smell of gasoline; a banker, the smell of fresh bills. Someone with a connection to Florida, might bring in the scent of oranges, and so on. It’s like a sensory signature. You’ve heard of clairvoyance, right? Clairvoyance translates to “clear sight” of a medium, or a visual means of receiving information. By the same token, clairalience translates to “clear smell” and is one of a variety of senses that mediums can experience in communication with Spirit. In this instance, I wasn’t trying to communicate with Spirit, but having just finished yoga on that beautiful Sunday morning, I was in the perfect state of mind and body for Spirit to communicate with me.

Rich, is that you?

So, where was I? Ah, yes…the smoke. Now, cigarette smoke just happens to be the Spirit signature of my brother-in-law in Spirit, Rich, Connie’s former husband, and father to her two children. Rich died young—in his early 50’s, and Rich was, as you may have guessed, a cigarette smoker. We have two documented instances of Rich coming through with the identifying smell of cigarettes. The first time was at Connie’s home, in the middle of the night, just days after he had passed into Spirit; the second time was later that year in a mediumship development circle at my house in Massachusetts. What’s interesting about Rich’s Spirit smoke, however, is that it doesn’t permeate the room like normal cigarette smoke. Rather, it lingers in one very specific spot, and unless your head (or more specifically, your nose) is right in that spot, you won’t smell it. I recall that when he came to my circle, only when I stood up from the sofa and leaned slightly forward could I smell it. I asked others in the circle if they could smell it—and they could, but only if they leaned in as well.

And so my friends, until I find further evidence to the contrary, it would appear that Rich was at least one of the instigators behind the morning’s activities. It was a timely visit for Connie, and she was comforted to hear of his visit.  Since all is going well with my brother, Jim, I’m interpreting it as just a friendly call-out to him and his family from Rich and the rest of our family in Spirit. I don’t get to see Jim and family very often, and have been feeling the nudge to get everyone together again. Connie and I spoke to Jim a few days ago, and plans are in the works to do just that. Life is good.

Oh, wait—so how do I explain the physical presence of the name badge? It’s possible for such an object to materialize via Spirit energy; this is called an apport, in paranormal circles. It’s also possible that my loved ones in Spirit pushed that little badge along its way to this house. That part, I may never know…but does it matter? Not really. Spirit uses every means possible to be heard, seen, smelled, sensed. Your Loved Ones in Spirit want you to know they do check in on you, they encourage you when you need it, and they are proud of the courageous ways in which you live your lives. So when things show up out of nowhere, stop to think about timing, what it might represent, and who may be bringing it to you. Open your mind, and you’ll be surprised what emerges!

So, let’s get some sharing going. Have you ever had Spirit come to you with a particular smell? If so, please share what it was, when or how you smelled it, and why that particular smell represented your Loved One in Spirit. Or, do you believe you’ve received a Spirit-sent apport? How did you interpret it and why? It’s really much more fun when you tell me your stories!

~In love and light,
Renee

The REAL reason for Rich’s visit and the badge emerges

PS Tragically, just a month after this post, a bump showed up on my cat Jack’s hip. Despite two surgeries, Jack would succumb to cancer triggered by a 3-yr rabies shot. Perhaps Rich, an big animal lover, was telling me that he would be there to bring Jack over. A comforting thought. So, the “J” on the badge was apparently for Jack, not my brother Jim.

PS Since posting this story, so many people have been telling me stories of Spirit signatures that are connected to smell. If you write me your story in an email, I can post for you, rather than have you create an account to post.

Karen G. from Victoria, MN wrote:  “My mother died in January 2006.  She left me an incredible gift when she passed: the belief that the Spirit [of our Loved One] is still there and can reach out to us.  My mother used to whistle (off key!) when messing around in the kitchen, and after they took her body, as I sat in the kitchen, for well over 1-2 minutes, she whistled that crazy off key tune. It was the most peaceful, joyous experience I have ever felt, and to this day it makes me smile and feel warm inside.  I was alone, no electronics on, no windows open, middle of the day and no neighbors home to make noise.  I had the time to even walk around the kitchen to double check, look towards the front door to make sure I was hearing right.  Finally, I just sat and listened.  Then said ‘Thank you, Mom.'”