I attended a unique session at the Monroe Institute when Robert Monroe was there. Bob had filmed a woman with a very special talent.

She, I’ll call her Helen, was able to communicate with and to help release souls who, freed from their bodies after death, had been stuck in the realm between what some might think of as a kind of realm between heaven and earth.

Helen communicated with such souls; then she helped free them from their entrapment.

Monroe had researched shipping logs preserved by Lloyds of London. He located the ship and its roster from the 1860s; on that list was the name of the man with whom Helen had connected.

Although I’d never heard of such a need nor the talent to address it, Monroe had. As we watched and listened to his video of Helen communicating with that soul, we found that she located its/his identity as a sailor on a ship from England. In her trance-like state, Helen told the man that it was safe for him to release into the next plane.

Fascinating as it was to witness, my doubts lingered. Was that real? Had it actually happened?

Using the name of the seaman that had been revealed during the process, Monroe had researched shipping logs preserved by Lloyds of London. He located the ship and its roster from the 1860s; on that list was the name of the man with whom Helen had connected.

Amazing as that was, I wanted to meet Helen and talk to her about her work. Reminiscent of Edgar Cayce, her ability to perceive and address stranded souls only took place while she was in a trance state. As we talked, however, she appeared to be friendly and motherly, about thirty years older than I.

... she appeared to be so ordinary that, had Monroe not introduced us to her special ability, I wouldn’t have suspected anything like that.

In fact, she appeared to be so ordinary that, had Monroe not introduced us to her special ability, I wouldn’t have suspected anything like that. Perhaps because I was looking for verification, I asked about her family history, what it was like as she grew into her special talent.

Quickly, our conversation led to her discussing her family. Had she turned to investigating this inner world due to a harmful connection with someone in her family? Suspecting that, I asked about siblings; her answers struck me as typical. She’d had sibling encounters similar to mine, but nothing harmful or mysterious.

However, when I asked about her parents, she seemed to equivocate about her father. Having learned to recognize such remarks as providing a pathway to deeper self-understanding while I was at Dr. James Farr’s Leadership Trust in Greensboro, NC, I began asking her simple and non-threatening questions. As if peeling back layers of papered-over truth, Helen reached into stored childhood memories that had not been embellished.

Within minutes, she told me that her father was stern to the point of being harsh; yet she had spent all her adult life trying to cover her pain with denial. Gradually, she and I uncovered the truth she had attempted to escape. As she became emotional about the fear and misery she’d encountered, I watched as she embraced the timorous child within her as if, finally, that inner child had been freed from her fear and misery.

I didn’t know what to expect. Thanks to the kind way she told me not to worry, I put aside thoughts of her coming gift. We hugged and we parted. A month later, a thick manila envelope was in my mailbox; it was from Helen.

After that, almost immediately, she brightened. I watched as she seemed to glow with relief from a profound understanding. She had resolved a concern that had hampered her for a lifetime.

Stunned by her transformation, I remarked about the difference in her even I could see. She thanked me as if I had helped release her from an interior prison.

I was grateful to have witnessed her success. But that turned out not to be the only one thing I was grateful for.

“I want to do something for you,” she said. “Please give me your address.”

As I wrote it on a piece of paper, she told me she would go into a trance state and transcribe a reading of my future, a timeline only she could see.

Although I was most appreciative, I didn’t know what to expect. Thanks to the kind way she told me not to worry, I put aside thoughts of her coming gift. We hugged and we parted.

A month later, a thick manila envelope was in my mailbox; it was from Helen.

p.s. I still have that copy of the life reading she did for me!