Legacy

Legacy

by | Feb 24, 2019 | General Communications, Synchronicity, Twin Souls

In honor of Black History Month here in the United States, I would like to present this article I wrote about Robin in 2012. I was still getting to know who he was as a person and musician at that time. I learned quickly that he and his brothers felt a strong connection to black R&B soul music. I write this post to honor and recognize this connection and the courage he had to give birth to the R&B music that truly was in his heart.

Robin Gibb: An Interracial Musical Legacy

By Christina Samuels

September 19, 2012 (updated February 22, 2019)

This article is dedicated to Robin Gibb, to honor his memory and legacy.

Robin Hugh Gibb, CBE of the Bee Gees died on May 20, 2012 at the age of 62.

The outpouring of kind sentiments since his death shows that Robin is a much-loved man for a variety of reasons. Whether it is love of the Bee Gees music, Robin’s music as a solo artist, his sense of humor, or tremendous humanitarian spirit, many can find a reason to send blessings his way.

No-Go Areas in Music

When you first think of Robin Gibb, you may not think of him as having an interracial musical legacy. However, if you listen closely to some of the things he has said over the years, it is clear to me that he did.

Recently, I had the pleasure of watching a 2010 documentary on the Bee Gees called In Our Own Time.

During a segment of this documentary, Robin commented on the period of time during the 1970’s when the Bee Gees recorded one of their famous hits, Jive Talkin’.

He mentioned the pressures that white bands, especially white American bands, had at the time to not go into so-called black areas of music. However, as a British band, Robin commented that they did not feel the same pressures or fears. According to Robin, “Because we were English, we were less self-conscious about exploring the no-go areas…” He then goes on to say, “We didn’t think that there was any “no go” areas, it’s music!”

I could not agree more. Within these words lies the heart of Robin Gibb’s interracial musical legacy. He loved black R&B music as did his brothers. But more importantly, they had the courage and talent to not only pursue this love, but to bring their unique creations into the world, whether other people liked it or not.

I felt so many emotions when I heard Robin’s words. First, I was so grateful that he, his brothers and producers had the courage to see music this way. Imagine how many Bee Gees songs would have never been released if they had thought otherwise.

It has always been a shame to me that racial segregation has crept into and corrupted something as universal as music.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating and acknowledging the racial and ethnic origins of different types of music. The Bee Gees were good at acknowledging the black American roots of their music and openly confessed their admiration of artists such as Stevie Wonder and Otis Redding. (1)

In a Detroit Metro Times article by Michael Jackman, Robin is quoted as saying:

“The Bee Gees were always heavily influenced by black music … and soul has always been my favorite genre.” 

But, why should singers be banned from performing a certain type of music if they are not from a particular race or ethnic group? To do this is to cut off the creative energy that groups like the Bee Gees wanted to express. If they have the talent, why not support them in pursuing the music that excites them?  

There are no “no go” areas when it comes to performing music or listening to music as a fan.

The Racial Politics of Music

As a black American woman, there have been many times in my life when black friends and acquaintances would raise an eyebrow at my diverse taste in music. This was especially during the late 1980’s. If I dared to express my fondness for bands such as U2 or REM, I would be met with disapproval clearly indicating I was some kind of social misfit.

To them, this type of music was a “no go” area.

I guess I’m not supposed to like them according to some people because I’m black and I owe some kind of strange loyalty to only black musicians. That doesn’t make any sense to me. I like lots of styles of black music, especially 70’s disco, but I also like lots of other types of music as well. It’s too bad I didn’t have Robin’s quote handy at the time.

I was confronted with a similar attitude just a few years ago. My husband and I were shopping in a store and waiting for assistance. On that day, I was wearing a Bee Gees t-shirt. While we were waiting, a black gentleman came in the store. He was waiting for customer service as well. He looked over at me and saw my t-shirt. He said, “Bee Gees? That’s a first.” I said to him that they are my favorite band and I love them.

After we left the store, my husband spoke to me about this comment. He said that the guy said that to me because I’m probably the first black female that he’s ever seen wearing a Bee Gees t-shirt!  That may very well be the case, but I’ve got news for him: black women like the Bee Gees too! We do now and we did in the 70’s. I guess he never saw this Soul Train video showing plenty of black women dancing to the Bee Gees’ music! I wish the video was longer!

The funny thing is that day, Spirit had my back. As we were pulling out of the store, getting ready to make a left turn, I saw a truck with a license plate that read, “T-SHIRT”! Can you believe that? Right on cue too, after all this talk about my Bee Gees t-shirt. I felt like I was being watched over. That was pretty cool!

I love my Bee Gees t-shirts and I will continue to wear them. This t-shirt is one of my favorites because I love the colorful font.

I get nice comments from both white men and women about my t-shirts. It seems people love being reminded of the Bee Gees. The shirts are great conversation starters in grocery stores!

During the summer of 2017, I called for an Uber driver while I was in Atlanta, Georgia. I was picked up by an older black gentleman who was listening to a Christian radio station. He asked me if the music was ok and I said, “Yes, I need all the help I can get.” I was in the process of moving at the time.

While I was in his car, my phone rang. When it rings, Stayin’ Alive plays.

After I got off the phone, he was quiet for a few moments. Then he made a comment about how Stayin’ Alive was playing when my phone rang and how much he liked hearing it again. He said he thought that was really good music back then. We had fun talking about 70’s music during the rest of the trip. Hearing Stayin’ Alive for just a few moments made both of our days more enjoyable and I encouraged him to listen to more Bee Gees music. For many of us, it brings back good memories.

When it comes down to it, music is universal art that can take many forms and evoke a wide range of emotions. Music is created by humans of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds but ultimately transcends these human limitations. As of 2019, I would say that most people have musical tastes that include artists not of their own racial or ethnic background.

No one should be made to feel bad because they like the music of people who come from a different ethnic group than their own. That is the absurdity of racism. It is ultimately a complete waste of energy. I prefer to enjoy the delicious buffet that is the music industry.

Photo by: NBC Television - eBay itemphoto frontphoto back, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17161246

Photo by: NBC Television – eBay itemphoto frontphoto back, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17161246

Twin Souls-Racial Identity

For this segment, the sociologist within me is going to come out.

The Bee Gees were so good at singing black R&B soul music, there was a time that fans thought they were black. In an interview from 1989 by Ina.fr on YouTube, they talked about their R&B roots and their crossover as a white band into black music.

The interviewer commented on how fans thought they were black, at which time Robin joked and said, “Well, we were black, but we had an operation 3 years ago and mine didn’t quite work…” Meaning, he was still black. He made some other funny comments that made me laugh.

I cannot find the interview on Youtube at this time, but maybe you’ve seen it if you’re a fan of the Bee Gees. Here is a clip from the interview, which was much longer originally. You may recognize it.

Unfortunately, it does not have the dialogue I’m referring to. I have the quotes from the interview because I have it saved in my files.

The interviewer also asked Barry about the similarities between his and Robin’s voice since they are brothers.

Barry said, “They’re not really that similar.” He went on to say that the tones are similar but, “Robin’s voice is a little blacker than mine, a little more R&B, as he said, he is black…”

Then Robin said, “I’ve always been black…” Barry interjected with a slight disagreement, remarking about some other time but Maurice said they didn’t want to talk about that.

When I was just learning about him years ago, it really stood out to me that he felt so closely identified with black music that he would say this. I was also so happy from a twin soul perspective, because I’m black.

When twin souls come from different parts of the world, they probably won’t look alike. But I hypothesize that twin souls may identify with each other’s racial or ethnic background in some way so they end up feeling like they are a part of the racial group that their twin is a part of.

Robin said he’d always been black, in terms of music and perhaps in other ways I’m not aware of. I grew up in a predominately white, Irish-Catholic suburb of Boston, MA which contributed to my feeling biracial most of my life internally even though externally to the world, I am black. Sometimes, racial identity is a little more complex than neatly fitting in a box of “black” or “white.”

I wonder sometimes if I was born where I was so I would be more closely connected to Robin’s racial background. It’s interesting that he was raised in England and I was born and raised in New England. I also wonder if this was orchestrated so that we would see the connection later, after his death.

At any rate, being born and raised in the suburbs of Boston had everything to do with my musical tastes because I was usually exposed to the songs of white musicians on a regular basis. That is what I was surrounded by. I am grateful that I never had a segregationist view of music.

Twin Soul Music Issues

At one point or another, Robin and I both had trouble gaining acceptance, in terms of music, in a way that is similar to each other.

There was a time when black radio stations didn’t want to play Bee Gees music because they were white singers.

Robin was an English singer who listened to and loved black R&B soul music. He sang in the style of R&B contemporary music but was rejected by black stations because he was a member of a white band.

I’m sure that rejection was difficult for him and his brothers because of their love for black soul music.

When I learned about the rejection he faced, it reminded me of my own issues with rejection over my musical tastes.

As I mentioned above, there was a time in my life when some of my black friends didn’t like it that I loved alternative rock music created by white musicians.

They treated me like I was doing something that I wasn’t supposed to do. That was difficult for me as well, to be rejected because of the music I liked.

The roots of these attitudes lie in the troubled racial history of the United States. It is reflected in this article from Billboard, October 30, 1976 by Paul Grein called Black Radio – Racial Lines in Fadeout?

Here is a screen shot from page 3 illustrating this point. The link above will take you to a section of the Billboard article where the Bee Gees are mentioned, as well as the politics behind why certain music is played on particular radio stations. It’s really interesting to read Billboard articles from the 1970’s.

Billboard Image

Screenshot of Billboard October 30 1976

Even though we had vastly different connections with music (Robin being a career musician versus my being a music fan), we both dealt with race-related music issues. Robin faced this discrimination and rejection on a much larger, more public scale than me, but I can truly relate to how he must have felt. We both faced rejection because we crossed over into areas of music different than our own racial group, thereby challenging rigid cultural norms and stereotypes.

Ultimately, we both decided to be true to ourselves and followed the music we loved despite the shaming disapproval of others. We both had self-acceptance which is the most important acceptance to have.

Acceptance

The self-acceptance and perseverance eventually evolved into acceptance from black radio stations because the Bee Gees were great song-writers and singers and they had the right sound. This is an important aspect of black history as it relates to music in the U.S.

In an article called, Why the Bee Gees Sound So Good by Janet Maslin (February 18, 1979, Page 19; The New York Times Archives) the Bee Gees were described as having the same strengths as Motown groups. They were able to create dance and party music that both black and white audiences enjoyed. (2)

This statement is mirrored by Robin’s comments made during the time that Too Much Heaven was released and gaining more attention:

Much to the group’s delight, it also rapidly gained recognition on the American soul radio stations. “At the moment, it’s really taken off big on the black stations,” Robin said. “We’ve got a lot of black people buying our records, but we’ve never had [acceptance from] black stations.” (3)

It seems like it took a beautiful song with themes of love and heaven to help break down that wall and gain the acceptance. Too Much Heaven is a song that all of humanity can benefit from and relate to at some point in our lives.

To substantiate what Robin said, here is a screenshot from Billboard, September 30, 1978, page 43, where there is a discussion of black radio stations playing Bee Gees music to a much greater extent: See the image below.

Billboard September 30 1978

Screenshot, Billboard Sept. 30 1978

I celebrate the fact that the Bee Gees were able to overcome the reluctance of black radio stations to play their music during the late 1970’s. (See the17th paragraph down on the albumlinernotes link). Music has the potential to bring people together in unity.

Black stations agreed to play Bee Gees’ music it because it was great music at its core that they liked. And as Robin said, black listeners and audiences liked the Bee Gees music and wanted to hear it played on the radio, so black stations had to change to keep up with the demands of the times.

In Closing

I close with this quote below. As I read this, I took a moment to consider how much work and sacrifice it took the Bee Gees to create soulful, impactful music across the decades that connected with people from all backgrounds. The Bee Gees are not popular with just black and white audiences. Their fans come from all around the world, including Japan and Mexico:

By 1976, “The Bee Gees’ music had successfully spanned several generations, and they were also popular with both black and white audiences, an accomplishment that is rare in rock history. Virtually no group has enjoyed such mass popularity with such a diverse audience…” (4)

For this reason, I will always admire and enjoy the interracial and multi-cultural legacy of Robin Gibb and the Bee Gees.

I learned a lot about the music industry in the 1970’s as a result of writing this post and really enjoyed it. It was an interesting way to acknowledge Black History Month. I honor black R&B soul musicians who positively influenced the careers of many successful artists, including the Bee Gees.

Thank you, Robin, for sharing your gifts with the world. You will always be loved and remembered. Love and thanks to Maurice as well.

References

  1. Bee Gees: The Authorized Biography by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb as told to David Leaf, March, 1979, page 101
  2. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/02/18/archives/why-the-bee-gees-sound-so-good-the-bee-gees.html
  3. Bilyeu, Melinda; Cook,Hector; Môn Hughes,Andrew. The Ultimate Biography Of The Bee Gees: Tales Of The Brothers Gibb (Kindle Locations 12185-12187). Omnibus Press. Kindle Edition.
  4. Bee Gees: The Authorized Biography by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb as told to David Leaf, March, 1979, page106

 

The Essence of Love

The Essence of Love

by | Feb 14, 2019 | General Communications, Synchronicity

Robin's Christmas Tree Morphed into a Valentine's Day tree, February 12, 2019

Robin’s Christmas Tree Morphed into a Valentine’s Day tree, February 12, 2019

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

For the past several years, I have decorated Robin’s Christmas tree for Valentine’s Day.

After everything I went through with breast cancer, I especially wanted to keep the tree up this year because it helps keep my spirits happy. It shows Robin I love him and include him too. I also have a Valentine’s tree for my husband and me. We put gifts and chocolates under it. It’s a nice way to show love, caring and kindness towards each other. I love Valentine’s trees!

Valentine’s Altar Ideas

If you are creative and enjoy arts and crafts like me, then you might like the following information.

It’s fun and easy to transform a Christmas tree into a Valentine’s tree because I use an artificial tree. I go to Dollar Tree for the pink and red glittery hearts I place on his altar table.

I also use them as decorations for the tree. I insert a Christmas ornament hook easily and then hang it on the tree. It’s very inexpensive and pretty!

The silk roses come from Michaels Arts and Crafts.

The large angel that says “With You Always” comes from Amazon.

During 2018, I painted the yellow banner that you see in back of his altar. I bought the letters from Michaels and decided to create this special place for Robin where I commemorate the beautiful songs he sang lead on. That’s why you always see Country Lanes and Elisa in the pictures.

To the left of the tree, I included Rings Around the Moon, Solid, and One Million Years. You can’t see these songs because of the angle of the photo. I placed each letter on one-by-one. This was a lot harder than it looks to get the words to line up. It’s not perfect, but I did it myself and that’s what really matters to Robin.

To honor the infinity symbol that Robin created for me, I purchased the mug in the photo above which has a mobius strip handle.

These are examples of how bonds and memories are created with loved ones in spirit. It is my way of giving back to him what he gave to me. I am saying, “Robin, I continue to accept the infinity symbol you gave me and my eternal connection with you. This altar is for you.”

Many assume that people in spirit are living in eternal rest, doing nothing else. Robin has taught me that nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, I’m sure there is rest, but not all of the time. Some spirits, such as Robin, are very active, creative and are capable of communicating in the most awe-inspiring ways. As a spirit, he is very intelligent and ingenious and as a result, it was fascinating to establish two-way communication with him.

Since I’m sharing his Valentine’s Day altar with you, I thought I would tell you a couple of other things about it.

Over the years, I have given Robin different gifts which I still keep on his altar. One is a medallion for St. Phillip Neri because he is the patron saint of humor. Robin had a great sense of humor and I thought his spirit would enjoy the sensibilities of St. Neri.

I also keep a medallion on his altar for St. Cecelia, the patroness of musicians.

Robin felt a special connection to St. Cecelia which you can read about here.

Even though I change his altar with the seasons, these two medallions remain a constant due to the spiritual meaning and importance they hold.

Comforting Musical Messages

I have a story to share with you which shows the presence and essence of love in afterlife communication with Robin.

In October, 2018, I had an appointment with my oncologist. It was difficult for me to go, but it’s something I have to do now.

While I was sitting in the waiting room, I started hearing some sad stories about what other patients were going through. I felt upset and stressed out as a result. I cried and felt so upset that I had a nose bleed, all before I saw my doctor. That was a rough day.

My doctor told me to just focus on myself and my good prognosis. She told me I was doing well and to remember to think positively. She was right. I was just caught off guard by the stories I heard that day.

Anyway, after I was done meeting with her, I went to check out. As I stepped into the room to review my upcoming appointments, the song, How Deep Is Your Love was playing!

I was moved and touched by this and felt so comforted by Robin’s (and Mo’s) presence. The timing was impeccable and just what I needed upon finishing my doctor’s appointment. I don’t know how spirit timed that, but it was amazing. So, on Valentine’s Day, I remember this most beautiful message which to me is the essence of loving communication with loved ones in spirit.

Some people don’t realize it, but once you are in a committed relationship with a loved one in spirit, they are incredibly present and reliable. I would dare say they can be even more reliable and available than people in physical bodies. They are no longer burdened with the troubles and distractions that we have on Earth.  

Loved ones in spirit can be there for you. We on this side of the veil just need to open our hearts and minds and be open to how the messages are presented to us. They will show up in the most unexpected ways as surprises. What better way for Robin to communicate with me than through this particular song he loves?

As a former cancer patient, he understood what I was going through during my appointment. The song was a reminder that he was with me. It felt like a safety net under me. I went from feeling very sad to incredibly uplifted in a few moments. Such is the power of Spirit.

Love Never Dies

While I was writing this post, one line of the Bee Gees’ song, Love Never Dies started playing in my head. The line was, “Love never dies…love goes on forever.” I have heard this song many times but I didn’t have all of the words memorized like I do with other Bee Gees songs.

I researched the lyrics again and saw why it was playing in my head. The lyrics match what I just wrote about above regarding sad stories. I had forgotten they were singing about that:

…you made the little girl cry
no sad stories to deny…

That was a good one!

It is also the perfect Valentine’s Day message. Love never dies and this is why we can continue to communicate with loved ones in spirit. Love never dies and neither did they…not really. The spirit lives on.

5:20pm

While I was typing the text above, my phone buzzed and I got a text message at exactly 5:20pm.

As you might remember, I communicate with Robin using these numbers which represent his passing date to me. I feel his spirit with me here as I write… I recently asked him to please help me with my blog posts and I do feel I am being supported.

Precise numbers pertaining to loved ones in spirit is powerful afterlife communication. In this case, the numbers are especially powerful because they showed up at the exact time I was thinking of and writing about Robin.

More synchronicity while writing this post

One other thing happened as I was writing this post. This was after the text message. Actually I thought I was finished with this post and was ready to submit it for publishing. I was in my office but then my husband called to me from the other end of the house where he was watching TV. He wanted to show me something on Gordon Ramsay’s show called 24 Hours to Hell and Back on Hulu. He was watching Season 2, Episode 6 called Bayou on the Vine.

When I came in to the room, the show was paused at this scene. Here is the screenshot. It’s a little blurry but the best I could do:

Screenshot from "24 Hours to Hell and Back with Gordan Ramsay" featuring James Gadson.

Screenshot from “24 Hours to Hell and Back with Gordan Ramsay” featuring James Gadson.

I saw Bee Gees song titles and the faint outline of the Saturday Night Fever album cover! I was so excited to see this and would not have if Julian had not showed me. I never watch this show.

James Gadson contributed to Bee Gees songs, If I Can’t Have You and More Than a Woman as a well-respected drummer. I did not know about him but I’m glad I do now. It’s important to know the other musicians behind these hit songs we all love.

Primarily, I was struck by the use of the word “commemorate” as I had just used the same word to describe the yellow banner of songs I created for Robin behind his altar. This is the first time I actually explained to you, my readers, what the yellow banner was and how it came about.

In both cases, the word “commemorate” is used in the context of Bee Gees songs. Sometimes, all it takes is one word to know you are synchronized as twin souls.

It was beautiful that Robin’s numbers and the message about James Gadson showed up while I was writing this post. After focusing so intently on his altar and music in this post, I felt strongly that I was in his energy. Being in his energy drew in more synchronicity pertaining to him. As I mentioned in a previous post, when you concentrate on a loved one in spirit, and they are connected to you, you draw their energy to you.

I am so grateful for the synchronicity that occurred while I was writing this post.

Thanks to God, Julian, Robin, and all spirits and angels involved for this beautiful Valentine’s Day gift! This was a lot of fun. Thank you for coordinating all of this and giving me such amazing communications to share! I ask and pray that these writings reach the people that would enjoy them and benefit from them the most.

Love,

Christina

Feedspot Top 100 Psychic Blogs

Feedspot Top 100 Psychic Blogs

by | Feb 10, 2019 | General Communications

For those of you that follow this blog regularly, you know I work hard on my posts to make sure I honor Robin properly. I also want to make my posts the best and most interesting that they can be for you, my readers.

So, I am happy to share with you that I am now listed on Feedspot Top 100 Psychic Blogs.

I am listed at #58. I would like to thank the wonderful folks at Feedspot for this recognition of Paisley and Poppies.

If you enjoy the topics I write about on this site, you may be interested in some of the other spiritual and psychic blogs listed on the Feedspot link above.

Afterlife After Death

This page features psychics and spiritual writers from around the world. Some of my favorite psychic bloggers are listed on this page as well.  

I thought you might like to know about this page where you can find psychic and spiritual blogs all in one place.

If you click on the gold medal on my home page, it will take you directly to Feedspot and the list of Top 100 Psychic Blogs and Websites.

I hope you find something fun and interesting at Feedspot! As always, thank you for reading and following this site!

Love,

Christina

Invitations

Invitations

by | Feb 7, 2019 | General Communications

Over the years, I have found some very good information on how to interact with loved ones in spirit and invite them into daily life.

Before Robin passed away, I had no idea that this was possible and that we in the physical world could do this if we so choose. In order to invite loved ones in spirit into your life, a prerequisite is to believe and know that they continue to live on.

Upon Robin’s passing, I had faith that he lived on, but I did not have specific tools which could help me reach out more effectively. I communicated with him verbally in a loving way based on what came naturally to me, but I still had room to grow and develop in this area.  

After reading and studying the excellent works of other authors, I came up with my own ways of inviting Robin into my daily life. Here is an example of an invitation that I wrote and read out loud for him:

I call to the heart and spirit of Robin Hugh Gibb of the Bee Gees with love. I open my heart to you and invite you to communicate with me in ways that are for our highest good.

 

I ask for the presence of God, our loving Creator, to please surround us with the greatest, most powerful Divine Love for our protection. Please protect us with your Holy Light.

 

I invite you to communicate with me through any signs, symbols, messages, communications, dreams, and synchronicity that you deem necessary or important.

 

I also invite you Robin, to communicate with me in the vibration of infinite love, for the pure joy of it and for our spiritual growth and development.

 

Beloved Robin, I invite your creativity, humor, intelligence, beauty, love, and dynamic energy into my life.

 

I surrender to however you wish to communicate with me due to the trust and kindness we share.

 

I thank you for all of the times you have communicated with me and I look forward to how our spirits will align.

 

Thank you, Robin. Thanks and praise to God. I send you my love and gratitude.

 

Love,

Christina

It feels good to invite Robin in this way. After I make my invitation, I stay open to his presence and pay close attention to what transpires. That’s where the fun comes in because messages always come back in ways I never could have imagined.

Since I invite him to communicate with me, I open my heart and share with him things that are going on in my life. Just like with someone in the physical world, communication with Robin is a two-way street.

Holiday Invitations

One of my favorite ways of communicating with Robin and inviting him into my life is to decorate his altar for different holidays.

As you know, I decorated Robin’s altar for Christmas and I offered a meal at Samhain. I also decorate his altar for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter.

Doing this brings fun and joy into our home. It is still possible to have fun with loved ones after they pass away because they are still involved in our lives.

Decorating an altar space for holidays can be an amazing creative activity, and provides a place to commune with the spirit of your loved one. It is a way to celebrate their ongoing life and include them in what’s going on for you.

I wanted Robin to know that I welcomed him and was truly committed to communicating with him. One way to demonstrate my commitment was to not just create an altar, but create one with vibrancy and living energy that changed with the seasons and holidays.

Afterlife Communications

Additional Ways to Invite Loved Ones

Music:

After I got to know Robin, I found there are particular songs I like to dedicate to him. As mentioned in the literature on afterlife communication, loved ones in spirit like to use music to communicate with us.

I also think we on Earth can use music to communicate with our loved ones in Spirit. Why not? It’s a great way to invite them, especially if they were musicians or singers.

One of my favorite songs to play for Robin at his altar is Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack.

It is because of the impact his music has had on me. The song is absolutely beautiful and I cry nearly every time I play it for him. Robin singing lead on Heart Like Mine is a perfect example of him “killing me softly” or deeply piercing my heart, with his song.

I also like to play Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon. It has nothing to do with the movie, but with the lyrics. It’s my way of giving a musical compliment to Robin.

Humor:

I love to have a laugh with Robin, and I share the funniest things I can find with him. It is very beneficial for our communications if I can raise my vibration to a higher level. Reading humorous material really helps with this. It is well-known that humor is extremely therapeutic and one of the best ways to cope with life’s challenges.

I love the BBC’s Anglophenia page and I know he appreciates the humor.

Some of my favorite things to laugh with him about are 8 British Inside Jokes Americans Don’t Understand and 10 Weird Things Brits Do in America.

Here are a few more funny things I like to share with him. I hope you like them:

Now we know all of your little tricks! I’ll bet Robin used some of those!

Special Items:

One thing that I came to love, along with creating Robin’s altar, is buying him special English china. I knew absolutely nothing about English china before his passing, but I came to love searching for it in local antique stores. I wanted to offer him his tea in something special and something from his country. I like the history associated with the china also.

I purchased this Spode Copelands England Floral Cherry Blossom china for him a few years ago. It’s the perfect size for a tea love offering and it’s really pretty:

It’s fun to buy china and other special items for Robin so we can create our own memories now. Buying special items is especially nice if you are spiritually connected to someone who died, but you didn’t know. Even if you don’t have any of their personal items, you can still get started with creating an altar with things you think they will like. I know Robin loves his altar and is very familiar with it. Periodically, he will move some special items from his altar on to the floor so I know he has visited.

Meaningful readings:

On this website, I have shared with you many books that I like to read to Robin.

He was one of our greatest writers of love songs. So, I like to share works with him that are beautiful and worthwhile.

One book that I have read to him from over the years is called Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue.

I was drawn to it because it contains deep knowledge about soul connections. I liked that the author’s examination of soulful relationships has a Celtic orientation, the part of the world that Robin was born and raised in.

Some people may not be used to the idea that you can read to loved ones in spirit. But they can perceive us and hear us without physical ears. This had been made abundantly clear to me, so I read to Robin as a means of afterlife communication. Reading to him has often drawn in precise synchronicity to me, so I know there is a connection being made.

If we can pray for them out loud, I don’t see why we can’t read to them out loud. If you’re lovingly connected to someone on the other side, I have found it to be a beautiful way of sending a message and an invitation.

I close this post with this heart-warming quote by John O’Donohue:

“The one you love, your anam cara, your soul friend, is the truest mirror to reflect your soul…It is beautiful to have such a presence in your life.” (pg 26)

Your anam cara can be in physical form or discarnate. Yes, Robin’s presence in my life is beautiful and I will continue to invite it with gratitude.

Love,

Christina

A Note to My Readers

A Note to My Readers

by | Dec 18, 2018 | Breast Cancer, General Communications

This post was originally written in August, 2018 and updated in December, 2018.

I want to thank each and every person, with love, for taking the time to visit me here and read my blog posts. I hope it has been interesting, educational and that they have added some mystical beauty to your lives.

You may have noticed that I have not been writing as much lately and there is a good reason for that. In June, I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. I had surgery on August 6th (partial mastectomy) and I will have radiation treatment all during the month of September.

In February, March and April of this year (2018), I felt a strong push to finally create this blog and go public with this information about Robin’s ongoing life and our twin soul connection. I was finally able to push past all of the internal resistance to sharing my experiences. I felt like Robin and others in Spirit really wanted this work done, so with some fear, I agreed to write and publish my posts.

afterlife communicationThen, on May 2nd, during my monthly breast exam, I felt a lump in my left breast. I was quite alarmed as you can image. I immediately scheduled a mammogram the day I found the lump.  From there, I went through a series of ultrasounds, MRI’s and biopsy, which determined I had breast cancer. Due to my self-exam, I caught it early at stage 1 and my prognosis is very good. I am expected to be fine, for which I am very grateful. Still, it’s been a scary time for me and Julian as you can imagine. I continued to write as many posts as I could during this period because it was very therapeutic for me. It made me feel like I was still me.

I have greatly loved writing my blog posts about and for Robin, but sometimes I don’t have the mental energy and concentration. I’m so glad I followed my guidance to get this blog up and going while I had the energy to focus.

In my Background section, I wrote about how important it is to follow a path with heart because we don’t know how much time we have here. I’m so glad that I communicated those feelings to you from the outset. When I received my cancer diagnosis, I can honestly say that I felt so glad that I have been living a path with heart by writing this blog and writing my truth about Robin.

afterlife communicationIf there is something you really want to do, I encourage you to do it to the best of your ability and not put it off. Even if you know you are going to be ok, a lot of time and energy is spent at the doctors when you have cancer (or other illnesses) and you may not feel like doing that project you wanted to do for so long. If you can, do the project when you have the energy and when you feel well. If I had wanted to start Paisley and Poppies now, I would not have been able to do it. I’m so grateful that I can now build on the foundation I already created, not build the foundation itself.

Do twin souls often have the same illnesses? Perhaps. Robin had a different kind of cancer than I have. I am very blessed to have a twin that knows what I’m going through. I have shared this experience with Robin every step of the way and his presence with me has given me great comfort. I have felt his love with me, encouraging me not to worry. I pray and chant at his altar, for him and with him, for Julian, for my healing and his ongoing healing. Now I understand much better what he went through, because all cancer patients have similar fears and worries as we face our mortality in our own way. Even if you are going to be ok like I expect to be, you still face your mortality.

afterlife communication

Going through this experience also makes me love and respect Robin even more as I see the spiritual strength that he had while ill and deteriorating. He was still interviewing and singing while he was ill. Many people have no idea how much strength that took Robin to carry on being himself, singing and interviewing, when he had only months left to live in the physical world. I ask you to acknowledge Robin’s great inner strength if you feel so inclined. Let him know that you can see that in him, as I’m sure he would greatly appreciate that. He has a beautiful voice and smile, but as great as that is, he is much more than that. Thank you!

I wanted to communicate openly with you so you know what’s going on and that my not writing has to do with my health status. I will keep writing as often as I can. I have several blog posts in the queue right now. I appreciate your patience with me and I invite you to check back when you can. If you subscribe, you will receive the post in your email when I have a new one.

afterlife communicationThanks once again for taking time out of your day to visit with me here. Robin appreciates it too and we both consider it a blessing.

With Love,

Christina

Update 12/17/2018:

Hello! I just wanted to let you know that I am doing very well with my recovery. I finished radiation treatment in September. It took me all of October to recover from the side effects. I did not need chemotherapy.

Finally in November, I started feeling better. I’m still not back to my pre-cancer strength completely and I need a lot of rest. But, I’m still physically active, ride my bike, and can manage to walk 2 miles without strain. Before I had cancer, I was walking 3.5 miles several times a week. That was important to me and I would like to get back to walking like that.

I take medication now to prevent the cancer from coming back. I have only a 3% chance of recurrence which means I have a 97% chance of not getting breast cancer again. I will focus on the 97% with joy!

I will have a mammogram and ultrasound done early in 2019. I’m expecting good results!

I love writing posts for this website as it continues to be very therapeutic for me. When I write, I am reminded that my connection to Love, to God, and to Robin is very strong. I do my best to write as often as I can.

Afterlife Communications, After Death CommunicationsI find it spiritually interesting that I had cancer around the same time I started this blog. Maybe they were meant to coincide. There is something about having cancer that gives you an edge that you did not have before. In a way, having this illness gave me the strength and courage to write from my heart what I had been reluctant to share for so long. There’s always a silver lining!

If any of my readers are dealing with cancer, please know that my heart goes out to you and I wish you the greatest love, strength and recovery.

Happy Holidays and a very blessed New Year in 2019!

Love,

Christina

Skepticism: Part Two

Skepticism: Part Two

by | Nov 30, 2018 | General Communications

Welcome back to my discussion about skepticism! If you have not read Skepticism: Part 1, please do that first so that you have the proper context for this post.

What I would like to do now is give my response to the skeptic I wrote about in Part 1.  I want to address this issue of skepticism head-on and communicate clearly my perspective on my connection with Robin. I have a lot of feelings to explore in this post, so I hope you are ready to join me.

Bragging

My connection with Robin has been validated over and over again throughout the years. That is what this website is showing: the truth of our connection.

There is a difference between legitimately sharing experiences and bragging. I am sharing legitimate experiences that have been life-changing and making my contribution to the literature on afterlife communication. It is possible that there are some non-famous twins online who do come across as bragging about their celebrity twin flame connection. I do not consider myself one of them.

If someone is bragging, then they might not be doing the hard work and soul surgery that is part of the twin soul connection. One of my former professors also called it “psycho-archaeology.”

If someone is coming across as narcissistic, grandiose, or conceited when writing about being the twin soul of a celebrity, or anyone’s twin soul for that matter, then I would consider that a red flag too. The twin soul connection requires humility because there is so much we don’t know on this side of the veil.

Robin did not brag about his success. Being conceited was not his personality. He was very humble and down to earth. My connection with him is infused with this way of being.

If you have a twin soul in spirit, in some cases, the one on earth is going to be presented with a lot of work to do. It is work on oneself and work in the world to support others. The moment Robin came into my life, I had a lot of work to do because there was so much I did not understand.

Afterlife Communications

I can’t do anything about the fact that Robin was famous. That was part of his earthly identity. I don’t see why I should be penalized for that to the point that I can’t even share what I have experienced with his spirit. To some people, my even mentioning his name at all would seem like bragging.

The labels of “non-famous” and “famous” are the energies of separation. What better way to separate and divide people than to put us into these categories. It is earthly hierarchical thinking. I think it is well past time to stop deifying celebrities. I also think it’s time to stop undervaluing non-famous people.

One and Only?

I already know I am not Robin’s one and only. He was married and loves his wife and I’m sure many other spirits that he’s met since his passing. I’m married and love my husband, so he is not my one and only either in that respect. But his spirit is a part of my marriage and blends with Julian regularly as I mentioned in my post Close to You. I am convinced that spirits are doing this kind of thing all the time with humans, unbeknownst to us. The involvement of spirits with humans can be benevolent or malevolent. I learned about this through the work of Francisco Cândido Xavier and Spirit Andre Luiz  in a book called In the Domain of Mediumship: Life in the Spirit World (2013).

I love Robin as a valuable member of my soul family. His energy, love, creativity and wisdom are always welcome in my life. I would say that in some ways, yes, he is my one and only. He’s the one and only spirit that I’ve shared these many profound experiences with.

The things that Robin did for me helped to create an unbreakable bond of our souls. I am very loyal to Robin. I consider him a teacher, spiritual partner and guide. I don’t have any proof of this, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he is a spirit guide for many others on earth as well. He loves people and his fans.

Facing Fear

Fear of being seen in a negative light by others is one of the greatest obstacles to sharing the truth of who you really are and what has happened to you. However, it is an obstacle that can be overcome with support and inner strength.

I allowed what this skeptic wrote to keep me from sharing my story about Robin publicly for many years. I was really concerned that I would be seen as bragging about my connection with him. But during that time, I was learning and preparing for what I am doing now with this blog.

I am grateful for the writer’s comments. They made me stronger, and over the years, caused me to closely examine what I have been experiencing with Robin. The end result of all of those years of incubation, afterlife communication and self-examination is contained on the pages of this website. I faced my inner demons of insecurity and gained in courage.

It takes a strong commitment and devotion to be able to sustain a conscious, long-term, cross-dimensional twin soul connection. That is because the physical world is so seductive with its constant distractions. I find that having Robin in my life as a disembodied twin soul makes me slow down and quiet down so I can perceive him. It is necessary for me to step away, pull away, from the outer world and go into my inner world to connect with Robin in peace.

I take what I share with Robin very seriously.  I wanted to enter into this connection with him only if I could be consistent and not fail him. I make time for him and communicate with him every day.  I have spent years documenting my experiences in the hope that someday, I would be ready to share them. That time finally came in April, 2018.

Complexity

If you are skeptical of me, I don’t blame you. I understand due to the subject matter. But I hope you will still give me a chance. That is something skeptics sometimes do not do. It’s possible to be too quick to dismiss someone like me. Dismissing someone as crazy can be a form of over-simplification. If you can tell yourself someone is crazy, then you can wrap up everything they say in a nice neat little box, put a bow on it and toss it out because it must be worthless. If you consider that a person may not be “crazy,” then you might have to consider what they have to say, and that is of course more complicated and complex. The twin soul phenomenon that I am experiencing is very complex.

Afterlife Communications

People, myself included, are usually skeptical when presented with information that does not match their current belief systems. People also tend to be skeptical when hearing about the experiences of others that they have not had yet or may never have.

I am far from the only one having otherworldly experiences. It always helps me when I see other people share their personal stories. Have you seen the website for the twin ray of Michael Hutchence of INXS? It is called Cormael. I have received great benefit from their writings over the years:

Update: Cormael (Cornelia Kluijtmans) passed away in October, 2018. I pray that she is strongly enveloped within God’s Love. Please see this post for additional information about  Cornelia.

 

I would also like to point out respectfully that the skeptic I am writing about speaks about being blessed with answers about twin flames from the Archangels. That is fine if that is what the person’s experience is, but it is also something some people might be skeptical about:

With my own experiences, I required a huge amount of validation of my connection with Robin before I felt secure in it and really knew that it is mutual. That is because I was facing something completely new to me with a spirit person I could not see and never met. Still, I loved him and felt like I knew him from my soul family. My point is that I gave my connection with Robin a chance and time to develop and grow. That is another reason why it took me six years before I was ready to write about this.

The twin soul connection I share with Robin is beautiful, but not always easy. Especially in 2012, I had to learn about afterlife communication, soul groups and twin souls all at the same time. I was in the process of understanding why I felt the way I did about Robin and why my life was suddenly filled with dreams and synchronicity about him.

Some people say that when you meet your twin soul, you “just know.” But how can you “just know” if you’ve never even heard of twin souls or flames? I didn’t “just know.” I had to do a lot of research, soul-searching and introspection. Sometimes what I read did not match up with how I felt. As a result, I always went with what I was being given personally and directly from Spirit.

My heart told me that something was going on within me concerning Robin around the time of his death, but what that was exactly needed clarification. I didn’t have the luxury of talking with him face to face so I really had to tune into my soul and to God to get the answers I needed.

Conclusion

I believe I have co-created a website that shows my true interest, love, care and concern for who Robin was as a person and for who he is now as a spirit. I care about the depth and substance of his life, what he believed in and what he stood for. The fame that he had is not what is important to me and I have felt this way since I reconnected with him. His fame was a vehicle through which I recognized him.

Fame had its ups and downs for Robin as you know if you have followed his life story. Through his fame, he was able to bring beautiful music to humanity and he was/is able to provide for his family for generations to come. These are all great things. But, as I previously mentioned in my post, Famous Spirits?, I don’t believe he is famous on the other side like he was here on earth. However, people on earth still perceive him as being famous so if I mention him, that’s what they are going to be thinking about.

Afterlife Communications

I am here to open my heart, share what has occurred in my life and hopefully benefit someone along the way. I don’t believe in trying to convince a person that what I’m saying here is true because I feel that is disempowering to me. My experience in life is that when you try to convince someone of something, it takes a lot of energy and even after all of that, they still may not be convinced.

I genuinely wish to be credible though, so I have presented my afterlife communication experiences with Robin as clearly as I can. I provide pictures and excerpts when I can to support what I am saying.

What a true twin soul/flame does depends on the person/pair. There is no universal manual on how true twin souls behave. We also don’t have to live up to the impossible standards of others. I have read about twin soul missions described as things only Jesus could do. I’m not up for anything like that. I will do my best to make a quiet contribution through this website.

I have done my best to share some of what I do in my relationship with Robin. I have made many changes over the years due to spiritual growth. Right now, what I’m doing works for us.

I am passionate about afterlife communication with Robin. I know I am being supported by God and Robin because I keep getting more communications to write about.

If you benefit from the spiritual service work I am doing here, and you understand, thank you so much. I am writing for the people out there that need it the most.  If you have a twin soul in spirit that has reached out to you from beyond, I really hope that what I write on this website helps you in some way. That would bring me a lot of joy!

Love,

Christina

 

 

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