Remembering Robin: An Afterlife Communication Story

by Christina | May 19, 2026 | General Communications

In this post, “Remembering Robin: An Afterlife Communication Story,” I write to honor Robin’s spirit on the 14^th anniversary of his passing on May 20, 2026. I would also like to share a story about signs from Robin’s spirit and lessons I learned during the period my husband was undergoing treatment for ocular (choroidal) melanoma in October 2025. Perhaps someone reading this has had experience with this type of eye cancer and if not, this post also serves as a message of education and awareness.

We are always connected to spirit when we are aware of this and when we are not. No health challenge can change this.

Here is our story.

Health Challenges 2025

My husband was diagnosed with choroidal melanoma in the summer of 2025 after receiving opinions from three ophthalmologists.

Choroidal melanoma is a rare eye cancer and requires specialized treatment by experts who are specifically trained in this area. According to the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, it is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults. But it is also extremely rare. According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, ocular melanoma occurs in about five out of every million adults.

Choroidal melanoma can be diagnosed without doing a biopsy. Biopsies of the choroid present a small chance of spreading the cancer cells, so my husband did not want to take that chance.

We were caught off guard by this diagnosis as neither one of us had ever heard of anyone having melanoma of the eye which makes sense because it is rare as I mentioned. He had been doing well for many years, with doctors monitoring a freckle otherwise known as a nevus since 2020. We had expected things to continue this way, bringing a positive attitude to the situation.

But when the freckle was diagnosed as cancer, we went through all the stages of grief that a couple goes through when facing a cancer diagnosis. We knew we had caught the melanoma early because his eye had been closely monitored, so that was a blessing. Still, we were concerned about the future of his eyesight.

His ocular oncologist recommended the treatment of plaque brachytherapy to stop the growth of the tumor. The procedure, which involved placing a radioactive plaque in his eye for one week, was scheduled for October 20, 2025. While he had the plaque in his eye, he was advised that he would need to wear a lead patch over his eye to protect others from low levels of radiation.

The procedure was to take place in a hospital in a city that was a three-and-a-half-hour drive from our home. We hired a transportation company to drive us there the day before on October 19.

Buttercups from Spirit

Prior to us being picked up on this day, I spent a few quiet, solitary moments with Robin’s spirit. I held his picture that I kept at his altar table. I only said a few words. I looked at his picture and said, “Buttercups would be a good sign.” I said this because I had recently spent time looking at the photos of his yellow buttercup meadow that I took during my pilgrimage to Thame in 2024. I can’t believe that was two years ago as of this writing on May 18, 2026.

My Spiritual Pilgrimage to Oxfordshire, England, Part 1: Robin Gibb’s Resting Place

After a few more moments of quiet reflection, I put his picture back on his altar, got our suitcases together and waited for our ride.

On the way to our hotel where we were going to be staying for the duration of my husband’s treatment, he got to talking with our driver about music he enjoys. It lifted his spirits to talk about music. He likes a lot of “old school” R&B soul music.

The next thing I know is that he started talking about a band called Chairmen of the Board, and said he liked the “build me up buttercup” song. I felt a little shiver run through me because one, I had just asked Robin for “buttercup” as a sign and two, my husband never, ever mentions that song. So, I thought, “Ok, good job Robin!” I didn’t expect the sign to come that way, but hey, you never know how loved ones in spirit are going to show up.

“Build Me Up Buttercup,” was sung by The Foundations, not Chairman of the Board but in my husband’s mind, they are similar groups capitalizing on the pop-soul sound of the 60’s and 70’s.

I didn’t say anything to my husband about how Robin was delivering the sign I asked for, through him. I quietly kept that information to myself. He was preparing for and concentrating on the serious eye surgery he was about to face. But I felt grateful knowing Robin’s spirit and the greater spirit of love was with us, comforting and guiding us, through music.

The radioactive plaque was placed in his eye on October 20, 2025. For the week following this, it was my responsibility to gently place antibiotic ointment in his eye twice a day to prevent infection. That was a little scary for me, given the outer eye tissue was inflamed and red after the procedure.

During the evening of October 22, 2025, I invited my husband to sit down so I could put the ointment in his eye before he went to bed. He sat down and I asked him if he was ready. He said, “Yup, let’s go buttercup!”

Well, you know what I thought at that moment? There was the sign I asked for from Robin again. That was “buttercup” showing up two times within approximately 4 days, both in association with my husband’s surgery.

I paused and looked at my husband for a moment, amazed that spirit was still working through my husband even when he was in pain and had a radioactive plaque in his eye! I still did not tell him about the sign because if he knew, then Robin’s spirit couldn’t use “buttercup” as a sign anymore.

I could tell that Robin’s spirit was connecting with my husband’s energy to deliver the sign I quietly requested. My husband never calls me “buttercup,” so his words really stood out as a message coming from Robin.

Remembering Robin: An Afterlife Story and Lesson

The main lesson I learned from these communications is this: While experiencing a health challenge, we are still spiritual beings, still connected to spirit, and quite capable of delivering a message from a loved one in spirit! We can do this and not even know we are doing this, just like my husband was doing and did not know.

Let us always remember who we really are as both physical and spiritual beings whose essence can shine through our physical vehicle, no matter what challenges our body is going through. When we are sick or a loved one is ill, let us not define ourselves or our loved one only by what is going on with our physical health as if we no longer have our strengths or capabilities. We, or our temporarily infirmed loved one, could be a spiritual messenger of the highest order just when we think they are at their lowest point.

I didn’t consider this at the time I asked in October, but I’m really glad I asked Robin for the sign of buttercups because of what they symbolize. According to Shan Waston in an article called, “Buttercup Symbolism: Meaning, Spiritual Insights, and Cultural Significance,” buttercups symbolize hope, emotional healing, and optimism.

These were qualities that my husband and I needed during this challenging time, not in the form of spiritual bypassing or toxic positivity, but as a way of bringing some light into the literal darkness represented by my husband’s temporary loss of vision.

You could say that I carried the buttercups from Robin’s meadow in Oxfordshire within me on this 10-day trip for my husband’s eye surgery!

Health Challenges: Positive Aftermath

My husband has recovered from the eye surgery as of this writing in May 2026. The radiation treatment was deemed successful because the tumor has regressed in size and is no longer showing the signs of being active which were present before the radiation treatment. He can see well, drive, and participate in his normal activities. He has follow-up every 6 months with his ocular oncologist and primary care physician.

During this time of my husband’s diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, I did not feel like writing. I was tired and overwhelmed with a lot of responsibilities being his primary caregiver. I needed time to process the events we had been through. Instead, I took art classes and painted which gave me a mental break. I enjoy paint by numbers and some of my own designs.

I recently created this painting of Robin below in honor of his 14^th anniversary in spirit. You can see the original photo I worked from here. Most of Robin’s fans will recognize the bright pink suit because it’s a well-known photo.

I sketched in graphite pencil first and then I used acrylic paint, markers, and gel pens. I always enjoy painting or drawing Robin which helps me work on my skills and connect with his energy:

Even when I’m not writing, my soul connection with Robin remains strong and enduring. I still experience heart-touching synchronicity and signs from his spirit. I keep a small altar table for him as I have done since 2012.

I am in the process of transforming this blog into a book. I won’t be blogging here as much as a result. I will be turning 60 years old this year and with this comes the realization that this blog will not be around forever. When I first started communicating with Robin in 2012, I was 45 years old. So much time has gone by. At this point, it makes sense to preserve the work we have done here in a permanent form.

Thank you very much for reading this post! I hope you continue to enjoy the music of Robin and the Bee Gees and the beautiful memories they gave us!

Until next time, be well!

Love,

How Synchronicity Answers Unspoken Questions

by Christina | Jun 11, 2025 | General Communications, Synchronicity

In this post, “How Synchronicity Answers Unspoken Questions,” I share a story about how the discovery of a special Substack blog and a husband-recommended television show came together to deliver a string of synchronicities. The multi-layered synchronicities provided the answer to an unspoken question I had related to the Substack blog post and the answer was delivered through the television show. Yes, it does have to do with a chicken!

Afterlife Connections: A String of Synchronicities

The string of synchronicities also brought me back to my childhood roots in Massachusetts. You could say it brought me back to myself. As the saying by Confucius goes, “Wherever you go, there you are.” So, if you’re curious about what’s going on with this story, I invite you to join me and read on.

Substack Discovery

In April, I received a Google alert for Robin which was an alert for an article in which his wife, Dwina Murphy-Gibb, was being interviewed. At the time I received the alert, I read the article entitled, ‘He was like an angel…it was just beautiful to hear his voice’ by Lucy Johnston.

In the interview, Dwina shared that she is writing Robin’s autobiography based on taped discussions they had. The autobiography is scheduled to be released in 2026.

The article is interesting and includes discussions about Dwina and Robin’s closeness as twin souls, Robin’s grief after Maurice died, and how he handled stage fright.

If you are a fan of Robin and Dwina, this article is well worth reading.

In the article, Dwina also shared information about her recently published tarot card deck called, “The Vedic Tarot: Where East Meets West.” She is a very accomplished artist, poet, and writer in her own right. I purchased the desk and have enjoyed working with it and learning about Vedic philosophy.

Being very busy, and having a huge amount of email to handle, I lost track of the Google alert that featured this article. I figured it was in my history, but I decided to use Google to find it again.

During the morning of May 22, 2025, I googled “Dwina Gibb news” in search of it. I scrolled down a little and then saw the Daily Express article, dated April 6, 2025, right away. I knew that was the article I was looking for.

After browsing through it again for a few minutes, I went back to the Google search results and scrolled through. Suddenly, I noticed a link for Dwina’s Substack blog. I didn’t know she had one. It was launched in 2023.

I clicked on the link and found a treasure trove of articles, poems, and excerpts from her novels and tarot card deck.

I scrolled through the posts to get familiar with them. The first one I read and was drawn to was “Good Mourning.” It includes beautiful art, poetry, and writing in which she shares aspects of her grief process due to the loss of her late husband Robin, and how writing helped heal and soothe her grief.

As I read through this blog post and browsed through the titles of others, I had the strong feeling that I would receive synchronicity. I could feel the energy of it right on my doorstep. I have received synchronicity over the years when reading biographies of the Bee Gees, such as the one I wrote about in the post below, so this feeling felt similar to that.

McKenzie and Massachusetts

While browsing through the blog, I noticed other intriguing titles, such as “The Ten of Swords,” and “The Star Child Chronicles.”

I also saw a title called, “Birds and a Rhode Island Red.” I was curious about why she was writing about Rhode Island, which is a state in New England in the United States of America.

I don’t hear very much about Rhode Island currently and have not over the years since I moved away from the New England region 36 years ago. Rhode Island borders Massachusetts on its north and east sides. When I lived in Massachusetts, which is also part of New England, I had friends from there who went to the University of Rhode Island. Many, many years ago, I vacationed in Newport, Rhode Island, so I have a little familiarity with the state.

As I thought about the state of Rhode Island, I realized that I had no idea what a Rhode Island Red was. I wondered and was curious about it. But I did not have time to click on the article that first day I found Dwina’s Substack, so I planned on seeking the answer to that question later.

I sincerely enjoyed discovering Dwina’s Substack. She has shared thoughtful, heart-touching insights into her life with Robin and her creative successes since his death. I felt grateful that I lost track of the Google alert with the Daily Express article. If I had known where it was, I would not have researched news about her and found out about her Substack and tarot card deck. She is very kind to help us all learn a little bit more about who Robin was.

For several months before this Substack discovery, I had also had in my mind that I wished there was a new book with new information to read about Robin so I could learn more about him. All the books I’ve read are great, but they repeat the same information, pretty much, and I was longing for something new. Well, Dwina’s blog is that something new. It was not an unspoken request that was answered, but an unspoken wish. The universe listens and then guides us into our answers.

There’s a lot more to this Rhode Island Red story. I hope you’ll stay with me and find out where this all leads to.

How Synchronicity Answers Unspoken Questions

As I just mentioned above, I discovered Dwina’s Substack on May 22nd, two days after Robin’s 13-year death anniversary.

During the next evening, May 23rd, my husband wanted to watch a show on Hulu called, “My Best Friend’s an Animal.” We are both animal lovers and he thought this show would be comforting and enjoyable for both of us.

We started with season 1, episode four because we were interested in seeing the pig featured in the photo for the episode. The show is wonderful with so many tales of humans healing animals and animals healing humans. I have had many bunnies as pets over the years and can attest to the reciprocal healing relationship. When trust is established, the nurturing, kindness, and comfort exchanged often surpasses human-to-human relationships. If you have pets, I’m sure you can relate.

After we finished watching episode 4, we went back to the beginning with season 1, episode 1. The photo for the episode featured a man holding a chicken. As we watched, we learned about a man named Dave Cox who lived in Florida, USA. Along with his twin brother, he had a long history of being a pet parent of various animals as he was growing up including dogs, cats, goats, and ferrets.

He shared how it was very difficult for him when his dog passed away. He had a strong bond of friendship with his dog and could not imagine ever replacing that connection with any other animal.

However, in 2015, shortly after moving to Florida and while still mourning the loss of his dog, he realized that he needed another pet companion to fill the void.

As we continued to watch the show, Dave Cox shared how he never could have imagined that he would bring a farm animal into the house. He commented that he is sort of the spontaneous type.

In the next scene, he opens the door to a room and a chicken that he named, “Sammi Chicken,” appears! Guess what kind of chicken Sammi was?

The next thing I know, the narrator says that Sammi is a Rhode Island Red chicken!! Here is screenshot:

My jaw dropped and I immediately said to my husband that I needed to pause the video. I told him about how I just discovered Dwina’s blog the day before in which she had an article about a Rhode Island Red. I shared with him how I had no idea what that was and it had been a question lingering in my mind. Then, he chose this show the next day with a Rhode Island Red chicken as one of the stars of the show.

This is how synchronicity answers unspoken questions!

To honor my husband, I have to say he is an amazing conduit for these messages and synchronicity. In a recent blog post featured below, I shared how a television show he chose synchronized with another article about Robin and Dwina. There is definitely a mysterious spiritual pattern here that deserves recognition.

My Spiritual Pilgrimage Part Two: The Thame Museum

The pattern is as follows: I read an article about Robin and Dwina that my husband does not know I’m reading. Then, in a very close time frame with what I had just read, he chooses a television show that matches exactly what I just read about them.

It’s interesting to see how soul connections between the living and the deceased manifest in this way, especially given, as in this situation, the living and deceased people involved have never met each other in the physical realm. But soul connections are about the invisible realms where interconnectedness is the modus operandi. It does not matter that we don’t know each other or never met in the physical realm. There are other planes of existence besides this one where we are seemingly separated by geography, earthly status, and the illusion of fame.

So, right there in front of me on the television screen was the synchronicity I had felt brewing as I read her Substack the day before. I had no idea it was going to come in the form of a beautiful chicken. Spirit knows that stories of animal healing are very important for humans, and one that I needed. I’m sharing this with you so you can benefit as well.

Depending on what country you reside in, you may be able to watch Sammi’s episode on the ABC television network here.

After being introduced to Sammi Chicken, a Rhode Island Red hen, I knew I needed to pay attention to this story.

Through synchronicity, the universe educates me and answers questions I carry within myself. It also uses synchronicity to guide me into what to pay attention to. It brings me into a heighted state of awareness where I can tune into my intuition. There are lots of things that could have synchronized once I started reading Dwina’s Substack. But it was the Rhode Island Red that was chosen out of the wisdom of the universe.

According to Purusha Radha, in the article called, “What Is the Secret of the Universe? YOU,”

The universe constantly responds to the commands you issue from within your Being…

It’s an extension of you, vibrating in harmony with your thoughts, actions, and soul-felt feelings…

Every thought and deed you generate creates potent ripples out into the universe no matter how small you think they are…

The last sentence of the above quote stands out to me because even though I was interested in what a Rhode Island Red was after seeing Dwina’s blog title, I did not spend tons of time thinking about. It was something I planned to get back to when I had time. But even that small thought, that short bit of time focusing on it and pondering it, was enough to generate the ripples. I still believe there was a Higher Intelligence at work with this event, as you will see shortly.

Synchronicity invites further attention and exploration of whatever is synchronizing. So, I learned about Dave and Sammi’s morning routine of sharing a banana, and how they went paddleboarding and kayaking together. Sammi on a kayak with Dave is a very endearing sight! They also went on road trips across the USA. Dave, who worked in residential construction, brought Sammi to work with him. She was a very well-adjusted, gentle chicken and became his new best friend. As I watched, I could see the therapeutic nature of their connection, providing comfort and companionship to each other

As the show progressed, Dave shared about how his identical twin brother passed away. His brother had been his best friend, and he struggled with this loss. I listened and thought of how Robin lost Maurice and how he faced similar struggles in living on without Maurice’s physical presence. I also thought about Dwina’s blog post on grief and mourning that I had just discovered the day before. All of these stories coming together in this manner added another poignant layer to the Rhode Island Red synchronicity.

Dave shared about how his brother Derek had always wanted to travel the world, but did not have the opportunity. So, as Dave took road trips with Sammi, he felt almost like Sammi was his twin brother and that through Sammi, he got to symbolically, take his twin brother with him. It is such a beautiful story. Dave cried as he shared this and I could really feel the sincerity of the connection between him, Sammi, and his deceased twin brother. This is another amazing form of afterlife communication. Spirits can work with animals to deliver a message of comfort, humor, or love to their living loved ones.

Sammi taught Dave so many important spiritual practices, like pausing to appreciate the beauty around him. She gave him so much comfort at bedtime, climbing on his chest and bonding with him.

His story really brings home the fact that on many occasions, humans find healing with animals in ways that humans are not able, or willing, to provide. I found healing in this story as well. I believe this is one of the reasons why I was given this synchronicity. I also felt drawn to study the meaning of the Rhode Island Red chicken as a spiritual animal totem. This chicken is seen as representing strength, courage and bravery. Click here for more information on this.

The next day, May 24^th, I knew I needed to follow-up on Dwina’s Substack post about the Rhode Island Red. It turns out that her Rhode Island Red cockerel was not as kind and gentle as Sammi! Her mother kept hens at their home in Ireland as well as this cockerel, which Dwina described as vicious. It attacked her brother and dog, which resulted in it ending up as the family dinner!

Sammi Chicken had quite a different life and personality than the cockerel. But sadly, during the process of researching Sammi, I found out she passed away. I teared up because I had already come to love Sammi only to find out she’s no longer here.

She died in 2023. You can watch Dave’s story in this video.

On May 24^th, along with reading Dwina’s Substack, I also did additional research on Rhode Island Reds. This leads me to my next meaningful synchronicity. It shows why the Rhode Island Red was important enough to Spirit to bring it to my attention.

Plymouth Rock Synchronicity

To continue my research on Rhode Island Reds, on May 24^th, I googled it and found a Wikipedia article. I read it for some cursory information about this chicken.

I immediately found out that it is the state bird of Rhode Island, developed there in Rhode Island and in Massachusetts, the state I was born in:

The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of domestic chicken. It is the state bird of Rhode Island.^[2]^: 70 It was developed there and in Massachusetts in the late nineteenth century, by cross-breeding birds of Oriental origin such as the Malay with brown Leghorn birds from Italy.

I was so surprised that it had a connection with Massachusetts and Boston in particular. I was born very close to Boston, Massachusetts. Now I was starting to see even more why this synchronicity was delivered to me.

I read through the article all the way to the end where related articles for chicken breeds of Canada and the Unites States were listed. I was reading on my phone and the first article that came up for me was one for “Plymouth Rock chicken.”

I was really stunned by this. The reason why is just a few days earlier, on May 21^st, I wrote a letter to friend of mine who was asking about where I was born and raised. I was raised in a small town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. This is what I wrote to her:

I was born near Boston, Massachusetts and raised in a small town near Plymouth, Massachusetts. Remember Plymouth Rock from history class? That’s the area I was raised in. It was fun going to the Boston Harbor for school field trips and reenactments of the Boston Tea Party.

I was referring to the history of the Pilgrims arriving in Plymouth Colony on the English ship, The Mayflower in 1620.

This was striking because I had not mentioned or thought about Plymouth Rock in decades! As I mentioned, I moved away from Massachusetts many years ago. Even though I’ve thought of and written about Massachusetts, it was never in reference to Plymouth Rock specifically. Now, here it was in my awareness twice within a few days of each other.

As I read the Plymouth Rock chicken article, I noticed another synchronicity. It mentions Worcester, MA, the city I went to college in:

The Plymouth Rock was first shown in Boston in 1849, but was then not seen for another twenty years.^[2] In 1869, in Worcester, Massachusetts, one D.A. Upham cross-bred some Black Java hens with a cock with barred plumage and a single comb; he selectively bred for barred plumage and clean (featherless) legs.^[6]^: 68 His birds were shown in Worcester in 1869; the modern Plymouth Rock is thought to derive from them.^[2]

At this point, I really felt the lyrics to the Bee Gees’ song, “Massachusetts”, coming alive:

Feel I’m going back to Massachusetts
Something’s telling me I must go home

I was truly being guided down memory lane. In a way, it felt like a truncated life review. For deeper reasons, the universe brought me back to this very specific part of Massachusetts where my roots are. There are several possible reasons. Even though I have not been back to Massachusetts for a very long time, my years spent there are still a part of me. I have both good and bad memories from living there, and this string of synchronicities offered me the opportunity for self-reflection.

My husband and I have been talking about taking a vacation in Boston, so this caused me to give this more serious thought.

Connections to other New England states, such as New Hampshire, have come up in our conversations lately as well. We recently contacted a business in New Hampshire for some information and when I saw their address, I noticed they are located in Manchester. Manchester, England was where Andy Gibb was born and where the Bee Gees spent some of their childhood.

In order to find the answer to what a Rhode Island Red is, originally, I had just planned to go back to Dwina’s article to find out. But had I done only that, most likely I would have missed out on the string of synchronicities that arose from reading a couple of Wikipedia articles. If I had read her article and gotten my answer, I’m not sure I would have researched the topic any further. The universe, which we are part and parcel of, has a much broader vision of what will benefit us. Synchronicity almost always prompts me to do additional research that I might not otherwise have done, which often leads to meaningful discoveries.

As you can see, many deeper connections with my roots in Massachusetts and New England evolved from the initial synchronization of Dwina’s Substack with the animal healing show my husband chose. All of these interconnected events got me thinking about magnetism as an aspect of synchronicity.

Synchronicity Simile: Iron Filings to a Magnet

On June 3rd, while pondering these synchronicities, an image came to me. It was an image of iron filings all drawn to the same magnet. The magnetic wand was pulling all the iron filings to it, so they all clumped together at the tip of it, just like in this photo.

It felt like one of the ways the universe works. Dwina and her Substack about the Rhode Island Red, Robin’s spirit, my husband and the animal-themed television show he chose featuring Sammi, the Rhode Island Red, twin loss, the Wikipedia article on Rhode Island Reds having roots in Massachusetts, which mentioned Plymouth Rock chickens, my friend and our exchange about Plymouth Rock, connections to Manchester, and my energy are the iron filings that were all pulled into an invisible magnet.

The magnetic process of synchronicity drew all these elements together in close proximity to each other, like iron filings to a magnet all clustered together. This got my attention and caused me to dig deeper. There is just something about synchronicity in terms of afterlife communication that appears to be electromagnetic in nature.

In “Science of the Heart: Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance,” An Overview of Research Conducted by the HeartMath Institute, Chapter 6, Energetic Communication, electromagnetic communication and synchronization of physiological measures are discussed. I find the quotes below to be particularly interesting in terms of afterlife communication. The bold is mine:

Most people tend to think of communication solely in terms of overt signals expressed through facial movements, voice qualities, gestures and body movements. However, evidence now supports the perspective that a subtle, yet influential electromagnetic or “energetic” communication system operates just below our conscious level of awareness…

The ability to sense what other people are feeling is an important factor in allowing us to connect or communicate effectively with them. The smoothness or flow in any social interaction depends to a great extent on the establishment of a spontaneous entrainment or linkage between individuals. When people are engaged in deep conversation, they begin to fall into a subtle dance, synchronizing their movements and postures, vocal pitch, speaking rates and length of pauses between responses,^[214] and, as we are now discovering, important aspects of their physiology also can become linked and synchronized.

I postulate that this ‘subtle, yet influential electromagnetic or “energetic” communication system’ that ‘operates just below our conscious level of awareness…’ continues after death, enabling us to continue communicating with deceased loved ones.

If aspects of our physiology, such as heart and brain waves, can become linked and synchronized while living, isn’t it possible that the consciousness of different souls can also synchronize, whether deceased or living?

In Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle, Carl Gustav Jung quotes Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as stating that:

“We all have certain electric and magnetic powers within us and ourselves exercise an attractive and repelling force, according as we come into touch with something like or unlike.” (1)

This may be one reason why souls that did not know each other on earth can be drawn back to one another when one is still living, and one is dead. Both sense the electric and magnetic energy of the other that is matching or like each other. It intuitively makes sense to me that energies that are like each other would be more likely to synchronize in the physical realm.

I hypothesize that when Robin died, he was able to recognize my electromagnetic energy field as something familiar to him, just as his energy was familiar to me once I discovered it. We had no earthly relationship in this current lifetime that would contribute to us being spiritually connected.

Therefore, I believe that our soul connection has to do with matching subtle energy patterns that we could both detect. One thing that afterlife communication shows clearly is that the synchronization of our energies is not limited to the presence of a physiological human incarnate body.

Of course, not everything within our thoughts and awareness synchronizes. We give our thoughts and attention to lots of stimuli every day. So, does the universe or spirit make a choice as to what synchronizes? Is it my Higher Self deciding what to emphasize? What is presented in synchronicity seems to be based on what spirit knows is most important for us in terms of guidance or answering unspoken questions.

Robin has been a wonderful teacher and guide in these matters, and I’m sure he would be happy that the synchronicity events are prompting this deeper inquiry. I have been studying this topic for 13 years with the intention of learning and understanding exactly what happened in my life after Robin died in 2012. I believe it is a complex matter, and overly simplistic explanations won’t cut it for me. This is why I continue to study and write. It is definitely a journey of spiritual growth which I sincerely hope also supports your journey, wherever you are at.

In particular, I hope these writings support those of you reading who have afterlife soul connections with someone you did not know while they were alive. You may be experiencing a learning process similar to mine. There is not a lot of support for these types of soul connections and even less if the person living is not famous and the deceased person was famous.

In Closing: My Second Portrait of Robin

In my previous post, featured below, I shared my first effort at drawing a portrait of Robin.

Afterlife Communication: A Portrait for Robin

I continue to practice and completed this portrait in May 2025:

Robin Hugh Gibb Portrait by Christina Samuels

I used this photo from Pinterest as my guide:

I am having fun drawing Robin even though it is a bit of a struggle at times. Eyes, teeth, clothing, and hair are especially challenging. In this portrait, even though it’s not an exact likeness, I feel like I captured some of Robin’s warmth and friendliness. Drawing him is a nice, new chapter in our twin soul connection and I plan to continue. I hope he likes them!

Thank you very much for staying with me through this long post! If it is your intention, I hope you experience magnetic synchronicity that guides you and answers both your spoken and unspoken questions held within.

References

Jung, Carl Gustav (2012). Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle. (From Vol. 8. of the Collected Works of C. G. Jung) (Jung Extracts), Page 33, Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

Featured photo of Rhode Island Red chicken: Image by Ronnie from Pixabay

Love,

Afterlife Communication: A Portrait for Robin

by Christina | May 19, 2025 | General Communications, Synchronicity

This post, “Afterlife Communication: A Portrait for Robin,” is written in honor of Robin Gibb’s 13-year death anniversary on May 20, 2025. Recognizing the death anniversaries of our deceased loved ones is a caring way of showing them we always carry memories of them in our hearts.

Death Anniversaries: Honoring the Deceased

There are many ways to honor our loved ones on their death anniversary. Some may choose to write a letter, a poem, or a song. Others will visit their final resting place as I did for Robin in May 2024. Donating to a favorite charity of our loved one is another way to generate good karma for them and bless their memory.

Robin’s Charities

This year, to honor his death anniversary, I drew a portrait for Robin out of pencil. It is my intention to offer it to him as a spiritual gift through this website.

I am inexperienced when it comes to drawing portraits, so I did my best. I have had a couple of drawing classes over the years, a long time ago, but I have not drawn very much for years.

Recently, I have been watching the television series, “Portrait Artist of the Year.” I absolutely love seeing the talent of the artists and amazed at what they can create in the four hours allotted for them.

Each episode features both amateur and professional portrait artists who paint famous sitters. In each episode, there is a winner chosen by three judges. The winner from each episode goes on to compete in the semi-finals. Three are chosen for the finals and then one final artist wins a £10,000 commission to paint another famous sitter. Their final piece is displayed in a respected museum located in the United Kingdom.

While I was watching the different episodes, I kept feeling a stronger and stronger desire to see if I could draw Robin. So, this show really inspired me. Inspiring people to be creative is one of the main benefits of shows like this. I find it very relaxing, healing, and therapeutic to watch. I have a passion for the arts and design in general, whether it’s painting, sculpting, music, pottery, ballet, writing, dancing, acting, or poetry. They make life beautiful and is one of my favorite things about life on earth.

Now that I’ve drawn again, I have to say it felt a little anxiety-provoking at first. Gradually, I felt the therapeutic effects of creating. Drawing Robin was something building up inside of me and doing it felt like finally getting something off my chest. I feel vulnerable sharing the drawing, but it comes from my heart. Almost all people feel vulnerable sharing their creations, but it’s something you just have to work through. Robin liked portraiture and I’m sure he would appreciate the effort. He was featured on Sky Arts, “A Brush with Fame,” and painted by John Myatt in Van Gogh style.

Here is my portrait for Robin (© Christina Samuels, 2025):

I used this Pinterest photo as my guide:

This photo is in the book, Bee Gees: The Authorized Biography by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb as told to David Leaf.

I feel like I captured a younger version of Robin, not necessarily reflected in the photo I used as my guide. I plan to draw other portraits using other photographs as my guide. With more practice, I hope to improve over time. Being good at art, such as drawing or writing, is not necessarily about talent, but about how much effort one is willing to put into the craft to get better at it.

The Power of Portraiture: Robin’s Presence

While I was drawing Robin, I had some interesting experiences. It was a very close, warm, and intimate activity to draw his portrait. I drew it over the course of several days, studying YouTube videos by Silvie Mahdal along the way. I highly recommend her videos if you are interested in learning to draw or draw better because they helped me immensely.

On several occasions, especially after drawing his eyes, I could really see and feel his presence appearing before me on the page. As I drew, I found myself talking to his spirit, saying things like, “I see you, Robin.” I felt a strong sense of his energy with me, which inspired me to continue. When I say I felt his presence, I mean it felt like he was there with me.

These experiences reminded me of a couple of books I have read over the years about how when we focus intently on a deceased loved one, we draw their presence to us.

Here is an excerpt from Angels and Other Beings of Light by Martin F. Luthke and Linda Stein-Luthke explaining this:

Each time you think of the one who has departed you call this being back to you. As with all the beings of Light, all you need do is think of a disembodied being of Light, and he or she is drawn to you, whether you wish to consciously acknowledge such or not. These beings will feel free to openly and easily respond to this connection with you, provided they are also feeling drawn to you. (1)

Robin Gibb is a disembodied Being of Light now. Obviously, when you are drawing someone, even from a photograph, you are thinking about them. I agree and acknowledge that during this exercise of creating his portrait, I was calling his spirit back to me and I felt that very much.

I can’t prove it to you. I can’t take a screenshot of that. But I felt his presence strongly enough that it made quite an impact on me. It was a powerful experience of afterlife communication through drawing and one that was new to me since I had never drawn Robin before. Not everyone is going to want to draw their deceased loved ones. But for those of you who do, I would imagine you could have a similar experience as mine.

In The Blue Island by W.T and Estelle Stead, another meaningful example of how the deceased are drawn to the living when we dwell on them in thought is given. The bold is mine:

In concentrating the mind on any one spirit person, you are sending out real, live, active forces. These forces pass through the air in precisely the same way as electric waves do, and they never miss their mark. You concentrate on Mr. A. in the spirit world, and immediately Mr. A. is conscious of a force coming to him. In this land we are much more sensitive than whilst on earth, and when thoughts are directed to us by people on your side, we have a direct call from those currents of thought thus generated, and we are practically always able to come in close contact with the person who is thinking of us; when near and acclimatized to his conditions we can impress thoughts and ideas upon his mind. He will seldom accept them for what they are, but will think they are his own normal thoughts or something of an hallucination.

Nevertheless, if frequent opportunity is given he will be startled at the amount of information he can record. This applies to everyone, not merely to the believer in these subjects. Anyone who sits for a moment and allows his mind to dwell on some dear one who has “died” will actually draw the spirit of that person to himself. He may be conscious or unconscious of the presence, but the presence is there. If people on earth realized the result of their thoughts upon those to whom they refer, they would be very much more careful in giving their mind free play. There are so many thoughts possible, and all of them are registered here; many of them affect the people they concern, but all of them affect the people from whom they emanate. (2)

I take this as additional confirmation that what I experienced while drawing Robin was truly real. It is worth keeping in mind just how aware the deceased are of the energy we, the living, direct towards them.

The Blue Island

Synchronicity: “Portrait of Louise” and my Vines

I would like to share a synchronicity story that gave me that old familiar feeling of closeness and alignment with Robin’s (and Maurice’s) spirit. Even though my connection is primarily with Robin, I include Maurice too because I think it would be rude not to since this is his song too.

On May 13, 2025, while I was in the process of getting organized to write this post, I decided to look up the lyrics for a Bee Gees’ song I found out about a few days before called, “Portrait of Louise.” It was released in 1970. I discovered this song I had never heard of while researching any connection Robin had to portraits.

I couldn’t understand the lyrics in the particular video I found because of the quality of the recording, so that prompted me to search for the words.

The first verse stood out to me:

Summers come and summers go
But I need the rain
All your vines will overgrow
And winds will blow insane

Well, that might not seem that meaningful at first glance. But it just so happens that several hours earlier on that very same day that I read these lyrics for the first time, I bought some stakes and clips to support my overgrown cucumber plant! I’m growing it in a container and the vines are taking over much more than I realized it would since I never grew cucumber plants before. It was also raining all day on this same day. It was not very windy, but I still feel like I read the lyrics on the right day at the right time to connect with Robin and Maurice’s Bee Gee energy.

Yes, my vines will overgrow, Robin and Maurice! How did you know? Because it truly felt like they knew. The deceased can observe us and hear us with senses that far exceed physical senses and are aware of a lot more than the living give them credit for. Perhaps deceased singers can let us know what they know about us through their lyrics.

Christina's Garden copyright Christina Samuels 2025

This type of synchronicity gives the feeling of sacred togetherness, alignment, and the feeling of being guided and watched over so that these different activities could coalesce into oneness. Matching and mirroring in this manner is one way the living and the deceased can stay connected. It was very precious for my viny cucumber plant to match the lyrics of this song so precisely. You can see it in the photo above in the bottom right corner.

Are you paying attention to your synchronicities? Please remember that this is one of the many ways our deceased loved ones reach out to us. When something to do with them aligns with one of your daily activities or hobbies, it could be a message coming through. We keep the door open to communicating with our deceased loved ones in this way when we acknowledge and appreciate these alignments. We close the door on this type of communication if we ignore, dismiss, or minimize the significance.

Closing Prayer for Robin

God bless you Beloved Robin with Eternal Love on your 13^th year anniversary in Spirit. I, and many readers here, hope things are going well for you and that you are enjoying your life in Spirit. I pray that your Inner Light and Love grows and strengthens as you continue to do your good works for many souls. Thank you for being my spiritual partner for this blog and giving me stories to share. May Divine Love, Peace, Protection, and Grace be with you wherever your soul’s journey takes you.

And so it is.

References

Luthke Ph.D., Martin F.; Stein-Luthke, Linda. (2011). Angels and Other Beings of Light. eBookIt.com. Kindle Edition. Location 747 and 755.
Stead, W. T.; Stead, Estelle. (Originally published in 1922). The Blue Island and Other Spiritualist Writings (Life on Other Worlds Series) (pp. 44-45). Square Circles Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Love,

My Spiritual Pilgrimage, Part 3: Blenheim Palace

by Christina | Mar 21, 2025 | Clairaudience, Synchronicity

In this post, “My Spiritual Pilgrimage, Part 3: Blenheim Palace, I share my personal photo gallery of the Icons of British Fashion exhibition I attended in May 2024.

Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, was formally registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. English expert gardener, Lancelot “Capability” Brown designed the landscape of the beautiful, sprawling, 2,100-acre (850-hectare) estate.

The fashions of designers such as Stella McCartney, Temperley, Lulu Guinness, and Dame Zandra Rhodes were artistically displayed amongst the beautiful interior of the palace. It was transformed into a fashion museum. If you like art in the form of fashion, I hope you will take a break from your busy life and enjoy the photos I share at the end of this post.

In addition to the photo gallery, I share a synchronicity story that occurred during our last night in Oxfordshire. By way of clairaudience (psychic hearing), the message brought several elements of my vacation activities together into oneness, including the fashion exhibition. It felt like a larger presence had been with me, guiding me throughout my pilgrimage. It was a lovely mirroring back of what I had experienced. Through this, I felt Robin’s energy as we wrapped up our time in England.

My Spiritual Pilgrimage, Part 3: Music and Clairaudience

May 29, 2024, was our last night in Oxfordshire, the last night of our pilgrimage. I had spent the day packing up our souvenirs and belongings. We were preparing for our flight back to Portugal, which was where my husband and I were living at the time. I felt sad that the trip was over. But I had so many wonderful experiences, it felt great to know I would be carrying so many heart-touching memories back home.

While packing and organizing our trip home, I started to notice a song playing in my mind. “Pop, pop, pop music…pop, pop, pop music…pop music talk about…” I had not heard it in years, this “Pop Music” song. I recalled hearing it in the 80’s when I was a teenager, but did not remember hearing it much over the years. I did not remember hearing it at all in recent memory.

The song played in my mind almost all day like background noise. I didn’t even know who sang it. I figured something got stirred up by being in England.

Well, bedtime came, and I knew we had a flight to catch the next day. I wanted to be sharp to manage all the bureaucracy at Heathrow Airport and wanted to get some sleep.

Still, “Pop Music” was playing in my mind. I realized that I needed to research this song if I was going to get any sleep. It was already 10:30pm (according to my journal notes). So, while lying in bed, I reached for my phone and typed into YouTube, “Pop Music.”

I noticed a video and realized that it was the song playing in my head.

This is the official video for the song, correctly spelled “Pop Muzik,” by M. M is an English new-wave band created by a singer named Robin Scott. The song, “Pop Muzik,” was released on March 16, 1979.

I thought to myself, “That’s why this song is playing…another Robin.” It seemed like Spirit was reminding me of Robin Gibb before I left. Not like I needed to be reminded since I had just been immersed in his energy for 2 weeks. I was surprised because as I mentioned, I didn’t know who sang the song.

When I receive a message through what feels like clairaudience, or when I notice synchronicity, I usually follow-up with additional research. This excellent video on synchronicity stresses the importance of taking action when it comes to this phenomenon.

Synchronicity often contains a deeper message, and in order to receive the messages, we must participate and do our part to decode it. Obviously, when we take action, we can do so using our common-sense, intuition, and discernment to participate wisely in the process.

Other than keeping a synchronicity journal, this is one of the most important things to do when you receive synchronicity because you could uncover key additional information that a guide, guardian angel, or deceased loved one is trying to convey to you. When you encounter synchronicity, those moments of life reflecting itself back to you, it is an invitation to look deeper.

In this case, I did exactly that.

Robin Scott: A Connection to an Icon of British Fashion

To follow the breadcrumbs, I decided to do a quick web search on Robin Scott. A Wikipedia article came up revealing that he is British, born in England in April 1947. I thought about how that made him slightly younger than Barry Gibb. I made note of the name and nationality connection with Robin Gibb.

I went on to read about his early life and noticed he had a friendship and business relationship with the late designer Dame Vivienne Westwood. This really got my attention because a few days earlier at the Icons for British Fashion exhibit at Blenheim Palace, her designs were presented.

Here are some photos I took.

Please click on each image to enlarge it fully.

It was busy and crowded that day, so I was not able to take many photos. Her exhibit was right at the beginning, and I had to move along faster than I wanted to. That is why I only have two photos. I’m so happy I have at least those to show you the synchronization.

As a result of additional research, I learned that Robin Scott and Vivienne Westwood collaborated on a song and video together called “The Bride of Fortune.” Here is the video which shows the Robin Scott filming of Vivienne Westwood’s 1985 Spring/Summer collection in the video.

This really moved me because this exhibit was very special to me. It meant a lot to me to be able to go. Going to Blenheim Palace had not originally been on our itinerary of activities. An Oxford taxi driver recommended it to us, and so, we decided to go. I didn’t know what exhibits were going on at the time. I just wanted to see the palace and the gardens. So, it was a surprise and gift that our trip corresponded with the Icons of British Fashion exhibition going on at that time.

Before this clairaudient and synchronistic experience, I knew nothing about Robin Scott and Dame Vivienne Westwood except that Dame Vivienne designed a wedding dress worn in a Sex in the City episode. I enjoyed learning about them and feel like this is part of the fun and magic of synchronicity: the experience of learning and growing as a person.

Echoes from the Past: Additional “Pop Muzik” Synchronistic Connections

Getting back to the Wikipedia article on Robin Scott, I noticed another meaningful synchronicity as I read. In the “Breakthrough” section, a Canadian programmer named John Lewis is mentioned. The late John Lewis was the musician responsible for the opening organ music for the “Pop Muzik” song.

This gave me another special moment because a few days earlier that week, on May 25^th, my husband and I went shopping at a John Lewis department store near Oxford University. John Lewis reminded me of how Robin Gibb played the organ during his music career.

Here is the photo I took of the John Lewis store.

Please remember to click on every image to enlarge it.

My association with the name “John Lewis” is very meaningful to me because I have had other synchronicities connected to it. This is why I made it a point to shop at John Lewis while we were there.

In this blog post below, I wrote about a dream connection I had to how The Bee Gees used to like singing in the bathrooms of John Lewis department stores early in their careers to get the echo effect on their voices:

Will You Wait for Me?

In another post about how afterlife communication can help reduce loneliness, I wrote about another “John Lewis-themed” synchronicity. If you like calves, I invite you to check it out:

How Afterlife Communication Helps Reduce Loneliness

My Spiritual Pilgrimage, Part 3: Closing Thoughts on Synchronicity

It has been very sentimental to share all of the connections I learned about as a result of the clairaudient surfacing of “Pop Muzik.” The article about Robin Scott helped to highlight two key activities from my pilgrimage: seeing the fashions of Dame Vivienne and shopping at John Lewis. This, along with the name synchronicity with Robin Gibb and the identical British nationality led me to feel that Spirit was speaking to me during my last night in Oxfordshire.

It felt like Robin Gibb’s way of letting me know he was with me, not only reminding me of him, but of the wonderful time I had just had in his home county. It seemed like a parting gift. It was amazing to have these aspects of my trip mirrored back to me while they were still fresh in my mind. One article about a person that I had known nothing about a few hours earlier revealed so much.

I write a lot about synchronicity mostly because that is the primary form of communication I receive from Robin’s spirit currently. As energy beings, synchronicity is one of the most practical ways for our deceased loved ones to communicate with us.

I also sense that part of the purpose of these essays is to encourage others to take their synchronicity experiences more seriously. It is easy to brush them off in a world that invalidates them. Sometimes, it seems that the harsh energies of the physical world are determined to try and cut us off from all that is magical and mysterious.

But, if we pay attention and accept the invitation to learn more and dig deeper in a common-sense, discerning manner, these malevolent forces cannot win. We can choose to accept the invitation for allowing more of the magic and wonder of synchronicity into our lives.

I am convinced that Spirit speaks through synchronicity. Soul connections that are already established in the inner planes of the Spirit world manifest in the outer planes of the physical world through synchronicity. These planes of existence are not really separate; they are intertwined in a way that makes communication not only possible, but probable. This is what my intuition and experience tell me.

At the end of the song, “Pop Muzik,” Robin Scott sings, “Do you read me? Loud and clear?”

Absolutely, I do! Thank you, with deep gratitude to Spirit, which includes lovely Robin Gibb!

Photo Gallery: Icons of British Fashion

I would like to thank you as well for reading the stories I just shared. I hope you enjoyed them.

Below is the gallery of photos I took from the Icons of British Fashion Exhibition. I really do hope you like them! ????I feel that everyone can use a little extra beauty and interesting art in their lives. It is with this intention that I share this gallery with you.

Please remember to click on every image to enlarge it.

For additional views of the fashion exhibition, I invite you to watch this YouTube video.

Icons of British Fashion Signs

Stella McCartney

Zandra Rhodes

Jean Muir

Lulu Guinness

Temperley

Stephen Jones

Turnbull & Asser

Terry De Haviland

Love,

My Spiritual Pilgrimage Part Two: The Thame Museum

by Christina | Feb 2, 2025 | Synchronicity

In this post, “My Spiritual Pilgrimage to Oxfordshire, England, Part 2: The Thame Museum,” I share personal photos of The Robin Gibb Gallery that I took during my visit to the museum in May 2024. It was an honor and blessing to visit there. I also share powerful afterlife communication and synchronicity related to Robin’s Scottish heritage that occurred while writing this post. It was a large download of information which gave me a lot more work to do when I thought I was almost done with this entry. Robin’s spirit seemed to say, “Not so fast, you’re not done yet!”

Content warning: This blog post briefly mentions genocide, colonization, and war, as well as other topics that may be distressing to read about. I write about this in the “Poetry as a Vehicle for Synchronicity: Family Tartan” section and the “Pondering Difficult Past Life Connections” section. Please read at your own discretion.

Belongings of Deceased Loved Ones: Robin Gibb

Words cannot describe how meaningful it was for me to see some of Robin’s personal items. This gave me the opportunity to peer a little more into his life, someone I never met, but connected with spiritually only after his death.

Imagine that you were unexpectedly contacted by a soul beloved all around the world after their death, someone that you didn’t know. Further imagine that you have spiritual confirmation that they are a member of your soul family and now you have an opportunity to see some of their favorite belongings. How would you feel? I ask these questions to encourage you to put yourself in my shoes and feel the excitement, anticipation, even longing and wistfulness of that moment.

The museum also has a wonderful gift shop offering t-shirts and mugs with Robin’s image, Robin-bird shaped silver earrings, ornaments, postcards of his wife’s artwork and many other items. I don’t consider myself to be a very materialistic person, but I will purchase items when they have significant meaning to me. So, I was able to buy some of these items to carry the energy of Robin’s exhibition with me. There is a place for meaningful souvenirs in one’s life. When I wear or see them now, it transports me back to one of the most notable events of my life, which was the time I spent in Robin’s hometown.

During October 4-6, 2024, the museum hosted a weekend event to honor Robin’s legacy. Attractions included a Bee Gees’ themed wine tasting, poetry readings, and a harp music concert. I was not there to attend this, but if you are interested in learning what transpired during the event, please click here.

Many additional items were added to the museum collection that were not there when I visited in May, such as his bicycle and family tartan armchair. You can see these items in this BBC article.

While Robin’s museum event was occurring, I had my 58^th birthday while living in Portugal. We were in the process of packing up our rental home and moving back to the United States. Unfortunately, our plans to retire in Portugal long term did not work out. I am grateful for what I learned and the good experiences I had.

I am now settled in The Commonwealth of Virginia, USA. I was unable to write during this 6-month period of making this international move which included purchasing a new home in Virginia and going back and forth between countries. If you’ve ever moved internationally, you understand how taxing it is physically, mentally, and emotionally. I need to be quiet within myself and grounded in order to write and it just was not possible during this major life transition. I’m happy to be writing again and appreciate you joining me here.

Poetry as a Vehicle for Synchronicity: Family Tartan

While I am in the process of writing a blog post, I am moved by how often synchronicity intricately connected to Robin occurs. It is as if writing sets in motion spiritual energies just waiting for the opportunity to be woven together. They lay in waiting until I’m ready to put fingers to keyboard.

I now invite you on this short journey to see how a poetic story about fabric revealed one of my most favorite and meaningful afterlife communications to date. It is the type of synchronicity that is exhilarating and life-enhancing, which is ultimately why I believe our loved ones in spirit still communicate with us.

On Thursday, January 30, 2025, I began writing a rough draft this post. I also did some research by reading The Thame Museum website. The links and text I included above about the event in October were written on the 30^th.

On the 30^th, I also read the BBC article linked above about the additional items added to Robin’s gallery, such as the tartan armchair. I made this brief mention of it, provided the link, and was planning to leave it at that.

I soon found out that God and Robin had other plans!

The very next evening, January 31^st, my husband invited me to watch an episode of Poetry in America, Season 1 on Amazon. He recently discovered the show and since he’s a writer and lover of poetry, as am I, he thought we’d both enjoy it.

At first, he selected Episode 6, “Harlem,” but quickly changed his mind and did not think the show would be best for us for that evening So, he skipped ahead and chose Episode 8, “Shirt.” If you are interested, the full episode can be viewed here for free.

In this episode, host Elisa New discussed the poem called “Shirt” written by former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. She analyzes and discusses the poem with designers participating in New York fashion week.

The episode is educationally brilliant in its review of the poem which I would describe as a condensed tragic history of fabric and shirt-making across diverse cultures including Korean, Malaysian, Bangladeshi, Scottish, and African American.

In the poem “Shirt,” the reader is confronted with the history of brutal, inhumane treatment of garment workers in sweatshops who died in factory fires. The poem addresses the history of colonization in the US and its intersection with garment making. It compels us to think about the history of the clothing we wear down to the very stitch…and who made that stitch.

At 14:28 minutes into the video, the viewers are presented with an image of plaid fabric. I didn’t make anything of it at first because plaids are common. This did briefly make me think of Robin’s family tartan chair, but I just continued to tune into the discussion.

Next, some text from the poem appeared on the screen, and this is the moment my eyes widen. I see a sentence beginning with, “The clan tartans…” Here is a screenshot from the video:

I knew something was happening because I personally never hear the word “tartan” in my daily life and was not even sure what it meant exactly. All I knew is that I just saw the photo of Robin’s armchair made of family tartan fabric the day before, and then, the word presented itself again.

Here is a screenshot of Robin’s armchair from the BBC article, “Bee Gees Fever at Robin Gibb Fan Event,” 5 October 2024 by Katherine Da Costa and Dave Gilyeat:

I asked my husband if we could pause the video. I said to him, “You wouldn’t believe the synchronicity I just got.” I shared with him my discovery of the picture of Robin’s tartan chair the day before and how the word “tartan” showing up in this video was major synchronicity and message. I gave him a hug and thanked him for once again being a major spiritual partner in how Robin’s spirit communicates with me.

He said, “I’m so happy for you. See…you still have your connection.” I would not have received this communication if it were not for him. Spouses, when open, can serve as a loving bridge facilitating communication between twin souls residing in different planes of existence, even when they don’t know it. Different planes, but not separate, which is what makes communication possible.

Close to You

He said he’s open to Robin working with him to communicate anytime, which is a blessing I am very grateful for.

At 18:05 minutes into the video came additional information that added to the synchronicity and brought back memories of Robin’s Scottish ancestry.

A woman with the last name of Philips mentioned that plaids come from Scotland and England. Elisa New articulated that certain plaids were associated with different regions in the Scottish Highlands and people wore the plaids as declarations of cultural identity. This helped me realize that Robin’s armchair upholstered with his particular family tartan, is part of his personal Scottish cultural heritage.

The video continued to show images of different plaid fabric and Scottish men in kilts made of “clan plaids.” Apparently, mill owners in Scotland used to make up clan or family names. Here is an excerpt from the poem “Shirt” from Poetry Foundation to elucidate this point:

Prints, plaids, checks,

Houndstooth, Tattersall, Madras. The clan tartans

Invented by mill-owners inspired by the hoax of Ossian,

To control their savage Scottish workers, tamed

By a fabricated heraldry: MacGregor,

Bailey, MacMartin. The kilt, devised for workers

To wear among the dusty clattering looms.

Weavers, carders, spinners.

When I read this, I could not help but think of Robin’s ancestral history in Paisley, Scotland that I learned about in his episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

Some of his ancestors were hand loom weavers, just as described in this poem.

This poetry video has certainly led me down a winding road of understanding Robin’s ancestral history better. I feel like his spirit guided my husband to choose this video at this particular time which correlated with my blog post writings and learning about his tartan armchair.

I strongly sense that he wanted me to learn much more about his Gibb clan tartan chair which was so important to him. It is clear to me that it was not enough for him for me to just touch on it so briefly. I did additional research after watching this video, so in terms of learning more, I did just that to honor the message I was given.

According to Dr. Nick Fiddes, in the article, “Tartans, plaids, or checks-what’s the difference?” tartans are different from plaids and checks in one especially important way. He states that tartans are:

…a pattern with a recognized name, associated with a clan, family, or other community. So plaid is useful as a term to identify all the other tartan-like patterns that have no such association or heritage…

It seems like all tartans are plaids, but not all plaids are tartans! If you are interested Scottish tartans and the differences between these patterns, I highly recommend the article I linked to above. You can browse tartan patterns by last names here. If you have Scottish ancestry, maybe you’ll find something of interest, like your family tartan!

I genuinely enjoyed this synchronicity. Since I missed the event in October 2024, this communication made me feel included and closer to his spirit. When I initially saw the photos of the event, I felt sad and left out that I was not able to be there. I am sure Robin knew that. This message brought healing to me and a deeper sense of connection. I know for many people in the world, their deceased loved ones are doing the same types of things for them.

Pondering Difficult Past Life Connections

Considering all that has transpired since Robin’s death in 2012, I could not help feeling like I was being guided by soul memories from other lifetimes with him while on my trip to Oxfordshire. What they are specifically, I still don’t know. But I was getting whispers from my soul.

During this pilgrimage, I pondered how I was born in and grew up in Massachusetts, which is considered part of New England, USA, how I have ancestral roots in Barbados, which was an English colony, and how all of this could tie in with Robin’s ancestral bonds with England and the UK.

I want to take a moment to speak about colonization since my African ancestral bloodline was directly harmed by it. Sometimes, you just have to get some things off your chest. I know Robin would support what I need to say. I think reading the poem, “Shirt” inspired me to say this.

What is colonization? It is a swirling mass of evil human energy that includes genocide, holocaust energy, torture, fascism, authoritarianism, brutality, land, human, and natural resource theft, slavery, caste systems based on false superiority lies, racism, and misogyny, all wrapped up in a selfish, soulless, ugly ball of cultural narcissism and sociopathy.

I cannot talk about sharing other lifetimes with Robin without addressing the truth of this world history. It’s time to get real. If we want to talk about other lifetimes on earth together with people we love now, then we have to consider the fact that they were not always a romantic fairy tale, if they ever were at all.

European colonization took over close to the entire world at one point. If Robin and I shared past or other lifetimes together, this dynamic of colonization would have affected our lives in one way or another if we were here at that time. Humans are a warring and destructive species. We would have been influenced by this at some point and I think it is important to acknowledge this.

Perhaps seeds of other-lifetime connections abide in this vast multi-generational ancestry. I recall how my biological father, born in Barbados, used many British expressions when he spoke. Through him, I was immersed in a lot of British energy while I was growing up. It was like a foreshadowing of my adulthood connection to Robin, a man with strong British roots.

I know in my heart that something more than mere curiosity prompted me to make this pilgrimage. The truth is still buried in my soul somewhere. By sharing what I just wrote, I feel somehow like I’m getting a little closer. I don’t know anything definitive; I don’t know who we were, but along with the sweet moments in any lifetime are the shadows. The shadows must be acknowledged along with the sweet, if we really want to heal these wounds.

Now, I would like to move on to talk about my walk to The Thame Museum.

My Walk to The Robin Gibb Gallery at The Thame Museum

The Thame Museum is a short walking distance from St. Mary’s Church where Robin is laid to rest. One afternoon after offering flowers and paying my respects at his grave, I slowly strolled over to the museum.

My Spiritual Pilgrimage to Oxfordshire, England, Part 1: Robin Gibb’s Resting Place

I walked up a short, quiet road leading away from the church and turned left onto High Street. As I did so, memories of mirror-soul synchronized signs filled my mind as a sign for Rycote Chapel caught my eye. (To learn more about the importance of Rycote Chapel to Robin, and to me in terms of synchronicity, please see the blog post below):

Afterlife Communication: Starry Ceiling

I then walked for a couple more solitary minutes on a sunny, cool day towards the museum.

Immersed in my thoughts, I then saw the museum on the left.

Noticing a photo of Robin outside in the display case, I walked into the front gate. Visitors are greeted by a quirky and charming cow statue which you can see below. This photo was taken by me:

When you walk inside the museum, you are again greeted with even more quirkiness in the form of a life-like statue of a front-desk security officer. This photo is from Trip Advisor:

Yes, I did think the security officer was real at first and felt a little startled by his presence. ????

After an additional greeting by 2 friendly volunteers at the front cashier’s table, and briefly browsing through the gift shop, I made my way over to Robin’s gallery.

While walking towards the exhibition, you can hear the faint lyrics of the Bee Gees’ song, Rings Around the Moon softly saturating the museum. In the gallery, a video of Robin’s life with this song playing is shown on a continuous loop. It set the mood for an enjoyable and peaceful, albeit somewhat solemn and contemplative experience.

My Spiritual Pilgrimage to Oxfordshire, England, Part 2: Thame Museum Personal Photo Album

Below are the photos I would like to share with you. If you are a fan of Robin’s, you will probably recognize some of the items he used to wear that he was often photographed in.

Compiling the photos for this blog post actually had a very strong effect on me. Selecting them one by one gave me a keen sense of Robin’s energy.

When I saw one photo in particular, the one of Robin’s Akubra Stockman’s hat, I slowly began to tear up. The energy had been building at that point. It was just something about seeing his hat hanging on the wall, the one I believe he wore in the photographs for the Still Waters CD liner notes and CD back cover. The hat was missing the body it once belonged to, and I could acutely feel Robin’s physical absence. You never know how something is going to touch you. I’m pretty sure that the hat Robin is wearing in the photos here is the Akubra Stockman hat hanging in the museum.

Here on Pinterest is another picture of him wearing this hat.

Thank you so much for reading! I sincerely hope you enjoy the photos! Please click on each image to enlarge the photo.