Sometimes, I am asked, "What is this "Spirituality" thing?" or it's thought I "must" be religious or perhaps a born-again Christian. People who have known me from my past think I have "lost" it, gone off the deep end. My friends and family who have known me for years are wondering when this happened, how come I never said anything before? Well, I haven't "lost" it and I am not a born-again Christian. I guess I have just "come-out of the closet" with my beliefs and for some people, it came as a big surprise because I never talked about it before.

In 1982, just as we were preparing to move into "Coulson Castle", we nearly lost Jamie in a near-drowning incident in the unfenced, stagnant and green, backyard pool. He was found at the bottom; grey, unbreatheing and lifeless and while his father performed CPR, I called for help. He was airlifted to Sick Children's Hospital where he had a "bolt" inserted in his skull, to make way for his swelling brain and was coma-induced to minimize damage. Jim and I spent our time either at his bedside or in the hospital chapel and three days later Jamie was alert and astounding the medical professionals around him. Of the 13 or 14 near-drownings treated at Sick Kids that year, only Jamie Seabrook was able to walk out on his own, sustaining no permanent damage. I came to believe then in the power of prayer and that "God" existed however it was a belief I spoke to no one about.

Eleven years later, when Jim drowned, I knew his time here was done. I'd always had a "feeling" that he would not be with me in my senior years. I believe that we all come to this earth plain for a reason and a set time and when that time is up and (hopefully) we have accomplished our purpose, we physically die. I believe our spirits or souls live on; that they move into another dimension but have the ability to stay around and comfort loved ones in ways not always fully sensed. I believe that we all have the potential to communicate with those spirits and even higher-evolved spirits, with practice if we so desire and some people are fortunate enough to do it with little effort. We have all experienced wireless technology and accept it, even though we don't fully understand it so communicating with the spirit world isn't really a stretch. Yet, it is something not readily embraced partly because of our church-based, fearful upbringings. I have experienced this communication first hand and therefore there isn't a sceptic alive who can tell me it doesn't exist.

More tomorrow...