I was thirteen years old when I saw my first ghost. It was at my maternal grandmother's funeral. It was a sunny summer morning. Here in North Carolina the mortuary puts a tent over the gravesite to protect the mourners from the summer sun and sudden rain showers. I was sitting on the front row with my parents. The preacher was giving grandmother's eulogy. It was hot, and I was ready to have the service over with.

I was looking up at the preacher when I noticed a young blond woman standing beside one of the tent poles. She was smiling as she listened to the eulogy. She looked familiar to me. As I was looking at her, trying to figure out who she was, a breeze moved the branches on a tree behind her. That's when I realized that I was seeing "through" her. She was transparent. She appeared solid enough that I hadn't noticed until the branches moved behind her.

I quickly elbowed my mother. But as I did that, the pretty blond ghost turned her head towards me. She smiled, placed a finger to her lips, and shook her head "no" as she made a "shhhh" sound, and then she faded away.

Later at the house, I looked through some old family photos. The picture of grandmother when she was twenty-one years old looked exactly like the apparition at the funeral. Yes, grandmother was enjoying her eulogy.

And so began my fascination and love for ghosts.

Down through the years Ive seen so many of them and felt the warmth of their presence that I cant help wanting to shout it from the rooftops. Theyre beautiful, and they wont hurt you! They reach out to you and wrap you in a blanket of comfort and serenity. Their only desire is to assist you, and love you, and tell you that the afterlife is a place of joy and spiritual progress.

Oh, sure, there are some that are downright embarrassed by their low estate, but those undeveloped souls arent able to appear to anyone in the physical realm without help.

A ghosts appearance is slightly luminous. Its light seems to create swirling patterns as if it were some sort of plasma. When you see a ghost, you might even think that he or she is an angel. Ive made that mistake too, but angels have a different demeanor. Angels radiate a sense of power and authority. I always have a feeling that I should kneel and bow my head in reverence when I encounter an angel. But they are quick to inform that they do not want adoration. Service is their goal, their joy, and their privilege.

Unlike angels, ghosts were once like you and me. They were people living in physical bodies. But now they are free from their physical cage, and they are delighted with their freedom. They enfold friends and family that are still in the physical body. They look forward to the day that their loved ones are born into their world of beauty, radiance, joy, and love.

How can you know that you are in the presence of a ghost? Perhaps you may see a faint glow in the darkness. Sometimes youll only see their beautiful eyes with lashes that flit like butterfly wings. Maybe you will smell a sweet, soft fragrance almost like baby powder. Possibly you will feel a touch as if someone dropped a silken scarf on your naked flesh. Perchance youll hear a soothing whisper in your ear. These are indeed messages from someone who loves you beyond the veil.

And if you are really blessed, you may find yourself standing in the presence of your beloved one. They linger near you because your bond of love enables them to assist you with insight and intuition. If God permits, you may see their apparition. They will appear similar to the way you remember them but with the glow of health and happiness. The apparitions are translucent with rays of light shimmering like a corona around them.

This ghostly apparition is actually a transfiguration of your loved one. You will feel no fear, only love and happiness. It is my hope that you will be visited.

Copyright 2005 Robbin Renee Bridges

Robbin Renee Bridges, a chaplain and grief counselor for more than thirty years, is the author of numerous published articles and the landmark book, "A Bridge of Love between Heaven and Earth: Self-Induced Contact in the Afterlife." For more articles about death, ghosts, and the nature of the souls in the afterlife visit http://www.spirit-sanctuary.org