In this post, “Afterlife Communication: The Joy of Reading to the Deceased,” I share a story about how reading to Robin led to a heart-touching synchronicity. The synchronicity that occurred delivered layers of meaningful learning and insights that deepened our connection. It’s all in the name! I invite you to come with me to find out more. Along the way, if you’d like to see a few lovely photos of Robin, just click on his name in bold.
Introduction: Connecting with the Deceased Through Reading
Part of the process of afterlife communication is learning how to connect with deceased loved ones in a way that’s comfortable. At first, it may feel awkward, weird or a little scary especially when new to this type of communication. It can be even more challenging when you did not know the person, such as is my case with Robin.
Over time, people find ways of being true to themselves while communicating with their loved ones and honoring what they would like. One person may like to leave a plate for the deceased at their table. Another person might ride a roller coaster in their memory. Yet another person may plant fragrant blossoms with the intention of sending the scent to their loved one.
One thing I have always loved to do for Robin is to read to him. Even in 2012, a few months after his death, I read spiritual poems and books to his spirit while sitting at the small altar space I created for him. It was a nice way to bond and establish a new connection.
I have loved reading about a wide variety of topics ever since my childhood. I found out that Robin liked to read as well so I felt like that was a good match. I could read to him because we would both like it and it’s something that is a part of my normal routine.
I understand that not everyone would be comfortable doing this. There is still a stigma about talking out loud to the dead. I read out loud to Robin in the privacy of my own home while sitting at his altar space.
I also talk with his spirit when I’m out alone in nature and want to share the sunset with him or comment on a beautiful constellation. I trust that he is aware of my conversations with him. It makes me happy to include him in my life in this way. I never got to do anything with him, so this is my way of making up for that.
Reading to the deceased is a wonderful way to build and maintain a long-term afterlife relationship. It’s been almost 12 years since Robin died and I want to do things to show him I continuously remember and care for his spirit.
So, here is my story about what happened when I read to him recently.
George Harrison Video and a Unique Name
On November 21, 2023, late in the evening, I watched an episode of Our History on YouTube about George Harrison of the Beatles. He died on November 29, 2001, after complications due to lung cancer.
In this episode, a forensic pathologist examines George’s medical history and lifestyle to see what could have contributed to him dying at the young age of 58.
During the episode, there was a discussion about how George had decided to do a 45-day tour of America which began in November 1974. At 16:29 minutes into the video, a poster of the concert event was shown with a photo of George. Here is a screen shot:
I very quickly noticed the name Robben Ford.
I am a fan of George Harrison and even keep a picture of him on my altar space because I consider him to be a powerful spiritual teacher. I have read his biography during which time I had a dream about him, and I have also experienced synchronicity connected with him. He lived in the county of Oxfordshire, England, just as Robin did.
But I was not familiar with the members of his band once the Beatles broke up. I had never seen the name spelled this way, as in “Robben.” This caught my attention, and I paused the video for a moment. Of course, I thought of Robin Gibb and mentally said to him, “I’ve never seen your name spelled this way.” It felt interesting to me, but I have seen his name spelled in other ways such as “Robyn.”
So, I moved on with the video, still enjoying the fact that I had seen what to me was a unique spelling of the name. I understand that to other people the spelling of this name may not be unique. But for me, it was. The vast majority of the time, I see “Robin” or “Robyn” in terms of spelling.
Reading to Robin: A Mirroring of Names
During the next evening, November 22, 2023, I felt guided to read to Robin. I had recently purchased a book by John O’ Donohue called Beauty: The Invisible Embrace.
I had not gotten deep into the book yet. I decided to browse through some of the chapters and thought it would be nice to skip ahead and read to Robin from Chapter 4, “The Colour of Beauty.” I turned a few pages and started to read the section called, “White: Womb of Colour.”
I read the first paragraph about his insights on snow and the color white. I thought about how Robin’s daughter is named Snow.
Then, as I began to read the second paragraph, I paused for a moment because I noticed something unexpected: a mirroring of names. Here, the name “Robben” appeared again. This time it was in the context of Robben Island, the place where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned for 28 years:
Several years ago in Cape Town, a friend and I had the opportunity of visiting Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela and his friends were incarcerated for twenty-eight years… (1)
I looked at Robin’s picture, feeling that sense of surprise that synchronicity brings. Once again, I felt that my choices were not all my own and that a higher guiding principle was at work leading to this mirroring. I said to Robin, “That’s the second day in a row with “Robben” spelled this way…about 24-hours apart. I never see it spelled like this.”
Also noteworthy is that this was the same day that our neighbors from South Africa stopped to chat as they were walking by that morning. I just happened to be outside tending to my plants at the exact time they walked by.
Since I continue to study George Harrison’s life and love the spirituality he shared and taught, such as in this brilliant video, I wrote him a note in my journal. Here it is:
George Harrison, thank you, I feel like you are involved in this…I read this to Robin for the first time. “Robben” with your documentary and then Robben Island in John O’ Donohue’s book I was reading to Robin. Thank you so much!
This was a blessing of synchronicity, which included a great video and a wonderful book. But I was left wondering, “What does this mean?” I felt like I was being given a reminder of Robin while I was reading to him. What was his Spirit pointing to? One thing came to mind which I will now share.
The Bee Gees’ Connection with Nelson Mandela
It occurred to me to check and see what connection the Bee Gees had with Nelson Mandela because I vaguely remembered it being mentioned in an interview I watched years ago. I found out that they performed in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium. They sang, ‘You Win Again’ and ‘I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You’.
Here is a screenshot of Robin performing:
When I looked at the date of the concert, June 11, 1988, I realized that this was 3 months after their brother Andy died. The Bee Gees would have still been grieving his death. Perhaps participating in this tribute to such a great, iconic man helped with that.
I am writing these words on March 10, 2024, Andy’s passing date anniversary. Andy Gibb would have been 66 years old if he were alive today. I share this video of “I Just Want to be Your Everything” in honor of him. I would definitely check this out in case you’ve never seen this. The comments about Andy are really nice, too. He was such a beautiful soul.
Like everyone else, I knew that Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned. But I did not know that the name of the place he was imprisoned was called Robben Island. It’s just one of those details I missed over the years. Once again, I was being taught at the Dr. Robin Gibb Soul School of Afterlife Studies! That’s what I’ve called it all these years. I would imagine that he’s got a few openings too if you’re interested. 😊 Anyway, that’s what soul connections are all about: learning, growing, and evolving.
In an article called, “A Brief History of Robben Island, by Camille Oswald, I discovered that the word “Robben” is a Dutch word for seals:
Robben Island is an island located approximately 5 miles off of mainland South Africa. The island itself is small, with an approximate area of 5 square miles. The name, “Robben Island”, comes from the Dutch word for “seals” (“zeehonden”), as seals were once common in the surrounding waters.
I thought this was very interesting. It also got me curious about what other meanings the name “Robben” could have. This is what I’m going to explore now.
The Meaning and Message in Names
I conducted a Google search on the name “Robben.” According to the Baby Names Content Team on the website, The Bump, this name is of German origin and means “bright fame”:
Robben as a boy’s name is related to the Old German name Robert and English name Robin. The meaning of Robben is “bright fame.”
Beautiful! “Bright fame” sounds just like Robin Gibb. So, after I learned about this, I decided to research what “Robin” means. During all these years of communicating with him, I never actually researched what his name meant because I always associated it with the spring songbird. That description fits him perfectly, and I never thought to look for any other meaning. It seems like another reason for the synchronicity was to get me to look deeper into his name.
According to Jamie Allen, Operations Manager for The Bump, the name “Robin” is of German origin and means bright, shining, and famous:
Many thoughts may go racing through your head when you think of the name Robin. Whether it’s from the old Batman and Robin series you loved as a child or Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest, this gender-neutral name is always a great choice! Meaning “bright,” “shining,” and “famous,” this name is for the dazzling little star of your life. Aside from legendary characters, possibly one of the most famous people to bear this name is renowned comedian and actor, Robin Williams.
I had no idea that Robin’s name had this meaning. His parents really picked up on his energy! This was all amazing to learn and connects to something else very meaningful in my connection with Robin.
By 2015, I had had about three years of communicating with Robin and becoming familiar with his energy. The reality was that I was spending a lot of time with him spiritually because of dream visits, telekinesis, and synchronicity.
I was also regularly watching his videos, reading biographies about the Bee Gees, and listening to his music. As a result, a loving, spiritual closeness developed, and I began to perceive his energy in a deeper way. It felt like he shone like the sun. It wasn’t something I saw. It was more like something I felt about him.
One day around this time, I looked at his picture and said, “I’m going to call you, ‘He Who Shines Like the Sun.’ I shared with Robin that I wanted to give him a spiritual name, partly because I imagined that he could have a different name in spirit already anyway. Still, I wanted to give him a spiritual nickname that reflected his energy that I was feeling.
I did a Google search for male names that had this meaning. I came across the name “Elenio,” which was the only boy’s name I could find at that time that had this exact meaning. I provide this definition now from Baby Names Pedia:
The origin of Elenio is the Old Greek language. The meaning of the name is he who shines like the sun.
While writing this post, I did a little more current research on the name “Elenio” and discovered this information on Name Doctor. The underlining is mine:
This name derives from the Ancient Greek: “Helenē (‘Ελενη) / Helénē (Ἑλένη),” meaning “torch, flambeau, brilliant, shining light, the bright one.” The name could be related to “Hḗlios (Ἥλιος),” the personification of the Sun in Greek mythology.
I have called Robin, “Elenio,” for about 10 years. I had no idea that I chose a spiritual nickname for him that matched his given birth name! It is so powerful to discover this all these years later!
This synchronicity has given me the feeling of bliss that is a small fraction of the bliss that awaits us all in the higher vibrations of the spirit world. The origin of this bliss is the Oneness and interconnectedness that is always present. This quote from Michael Mirdad, in the article, “Signs and Synchronicities,” articulates this perfectly:
The forms synchronicity can take are literally infinite, but regardless of form, synchronicity occurs due to one of the most vital laws in the universe: We are all ONE and are connected in ways known and unknown, seen and unseen. Therefore, it should come as no surprise then that as you get more tuned into the ONENESS of all things, all things begin to move into undeniable alignment, and you will then experience more and more meaningful, synchronistic events.
This is the joy of reading to the deceased; the joy that reading to Robin brought to me. Reading just a few sentences for him opened the door to this amazing journey of discovery. It’s what I wish for you as well in your communications with your deceased loved ones.
Thank you so much for reading! Until next time! 😊
References
- O’ Donohue, John (2004). Beauty: The Invisible Embrace-Rediscovering the True Sources of Compassion, Serenity, and Hope, Ch. 4, “The Colour of Beauty”, pg. 90.
Photo Credits (listed in order of appearance)
1. Top of Page Featured Photo: Image by Carlos Villada from Pixabay
2. Image by Carlos Villada from Pixabay
3. Image by Carlos Villada from Pixabay
4. Image by Carlos Villada from Pixabay
Love,
