Clear Signs a Deceased Loved One is With You (2024)
Jan 12, 2023
Losing someone you love can cause immense emotional suffering. There is no correct way to move through the grieving process and healing is an individual experience that often leaves grievers feeling alone or misunderstood. For some clients I work with, the loss of a loved one causes them to awaken to their own spiritual journey and seek a deeper spiritual connection to their loved one in the Spirit World. Many have felt, sensed, heard, and seen signs they feel are from specific loved ones.
Your loved ones that have passed to the Spirit World are always with you and want to bring you the comfort of knowing that they are still present in your life. If you are open to receiving them, they will send you signs and validations of their presence. It takes energy for your loved ones to communicate and often the signs may be subtle, which is why it can be difficult to see them.
Do deceased loved ones try to communicate?
Your deceased loved ones are often around you and wish to communicate with you. According to a New York Times poll, a majority of Americans - 57% - say they believe in psychic phenomena such as ESP (Extra Sensory Perception), telepathy, or experiences that can’t be explained. This has increased in recent years - now more than ever, people are seeking out psychic mediums to connect with their deceased loved ones for healing and peace of mind.
There is no set time period after losing a loved one that you can begin receiving signs from them. When my grandmother passed a few years ago, I saw an image of her pop up in my peripheral vision. She was looking young and healthy and she said “whoop-de-doo!” This was a common playful phrase she threw around that could mean anything from hello, goodbye, or come have a seat by me. Upon experiencing this, I called my mom to let her know and she confirmed that yes, my grandmother who had been in the hospital for months had just passed.
If you don’t feel you are receiving signs from your passed loved one right away, that's nothing to worry about. We are each on our own unique grief journey and for reasons we may not know about, the Spirit World chooses the perfect and most meaningful time to connect with us. Communications from loved ones who have passed may be experienced more frequently around special events such as birthdays or anniversaries. I believe what makes these times special is not only the calendar date, but the fact that our loved ones are very much on our mind. So if you always enjoyed a beach day with your dad and you visit a beach the two of you loved, that may create wonderful energy to receive a sign or feel his presence as well. There is also the consideration that when we are in deep grief we may not be as open or prepared to communicate in that way or receive a sign from the Spirit World. This never means they are not thinking of us or don’t love to connect with us. It may simply be that the timing is not right. Everyone's grief journey is unique.
How can I communicate back?
You can communicate to your deceased loved ones as much or as little as you like. Especially when you feel their presence, sending a thought or even speaking to them out loud can help you form an energetic connection. I have a client who sets the table for her husband around his birthday or anniversary of his passing and cooks his favorite meal - this makes her feel closer to him during these occasions. You could also try writing a letter to your deceased loved one that you either keep or leave someplace meaningful. When I visited St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland, I lit a candle for my Scottish great grandmother and I felt her presence with me. You might decide to create an altar in your home that helps you feel connected to your passed loved ones. An altar is the energetic center of your home, where you can call on or call in your Spirit Guides, loved ones, or inspiration from the Spirit World.
Feeling anxious about communicating with your deceased loved ones?
You may already feel a great connection to your loved ones who have passed, but if you don’t, know that it’s natural to feel anxious when communicating with your deceased loved ones for the first time. The important thing to know is that when we pass to the Spirit World, we don’t take any physical, mental, or emotional illness with us. When we are in the Spirit World, we exist as a whole, healthy, and infinitely wise and loving being. When I am connecting with a Spirit person, they will often show me their struggles in life or their personality but they are no longer limited by many beliefs and ailments they experienced on earth.
If you are feeling anxious to connect, I recommend setting an appointment to connect with your loved one and write it in your calendar. When the day comes, find a quiet place and surround yourself with anything you find soothing or magical. Perhaps light a candle, have a photograph of your loved one, any items of theirs that hold meaning to you or a favorite crystal to hold. Set a clear intention to connect with them using their name. Close your eyes and take a few cleansing breaths and try to create a space of calm or stillness within you. The connection may feel subtle or like you are making it up at first, but stay with it. Notice how you feel, anything you see or hear, and make note of it. Keep this first session short and try again when you feel more ready. If you feel drawn to it, here is a guided meditation to help connect to your passed loved ones.
How to Recognize Signs that Your Deceased Loved Ones are Visiting
1. You Feel Their Presence
Your body is like an antenna for energetic, psychic, and spirit information. When you are experiencing something profound that expands your consciousness, you will feel it. You may have a physical sensation when receiving a sign that your loved ones in spirit are around. Some people say they get “chills” or feel a difference in body temperature. Sometimes it may be that you simply feel a subtle change in the atmosphere, and emotionally you may feel very loved or loving.
2. Divine Timing
Signs, synchronicities and validations are likely to come to you when you are struggling, in need or ask for help from the Spirit World. Your loved ones may send you a sign to let you know that you are “on the right path” or validation for hard choices you’ve had to make, when you’re trying something new, going through a major change, taking a leap of faith or learning about spiritual topics.
3. Signs Through Nature
Many people associate birds, butterflies, or dragonflies with signs from their loved ones in Spirit. If you observe a humming bird quickly flutter from one beautiful place to the next or the translucent angelic-seeming wings of a dragonfly, it's easy to see why. When my grandmother was alive she had a love for cardinals and I often associate the sweet birds with her presence. They remind me of days spent looking out the window at her garden's bird feeder and the joy they brought her.
You may have specific signs that hold unique meaning between you and your loved one. Being in nature can restore your energy and allow you to feel the natural vibration of the earth and elements. Just as your deceased loved ones have a Spirit, you, yourself have a Spirit and both are energetically connected to all life including plants and animals. Being in nature allows you to be immersed in life that is ever-changing and many people feel they receive signs when they are outdoors and connecting this way. Perhaps a butterfly that lands on you or an animal that comes unusually close to you causes you to think of a loved one. Many people find shapes and patterns or synchronicities in rocks, leaves, or even the clouds. Try to remain open and unattached as you allow these signs to come to you.
Want to dive even deeper into synchronicities? Uncovering Intuition: The Course is a two-part, self-paced course guiding you through practical, inspiring exercises that'll help unlock your inner wisdom so you can live with more power, truth, and intention.
4. You Are Present
Over-focusing on, and constantly looking everywhere for specific signs, can limit your ability to receive them. There is no limit to how often we can “ask” for signs, but once you do, allow the universe time to respond. Being overly focused on a specific idea of the sign you want or trying to control the process does not lead to more signs and is never helpful in creation. You create your life from the present moment, from now. Constantly looking forwards or backward leaves no time to experience the present moment, which is when you are able to connect with your loved ones who have passed, your guides, or the universe. Set your intention to receive signs and then go experience life.
5. Numbers and Synchronicities
Many people notice numbers, patterns and synchronicities. The exact number you see repeating isn’t important, rather it’s the importance you place on it. If you associate a certain loved one with the number “77” and you see that sign on a license plate in front of you when you are having a particularly tough day, you get to your office and notice you have 77 new notifications, the following week you are meeting a new client and notice their address is 77. You can be sure this synchronicity is a sign from your loved one that they are around you supporting you. Numbers don’t need to appear in synchronicity to be meaningful, simply having the thought that you miss your friend and then noticing the time is 4:44pm can be meaningful especially when accompanied by a feeling or knowing. Try not to become overly focused; simply be open to these signs and allow them to be brought to your attention.
6. You Hear Your Song
You turn on your car radio and a special song that reminds you of your loved one happens to be playing. You go out to dinner with a friend and tell a story about your beloved Grandmother and then notice a song from her favorite musical is playing softly in the background of the restaurant, or perhaps you wake up in the morning with specific song lyrics playing in your mind. Lights flickering, the TV going on, static on the radio, a song that plays at just the right time. Electronic devices produce currents of energy that allow the spirit world to communicate with you, and these can all be signs from your loved ones that have passed.
7. Visitation Dreams
When we dream, we are most connected to our subconscious mind and so our intuition and connection to the Spirit World all have more direct access to us without our conscious mind interfering. In visitation dreams, your loved ones in Spirit are actually visiting with you. Two of the common elements of these dreams are that they feel very real, and that your loved ones are not angry, sick or hurt. Instead, they are loving, whole and have usually come to let you know they are okay. I used to have these dreams of my grandmother where I would hug her on the beach, feel the warmth of her skin, and smell the oil she used to put on. I could see in detail the side of her face and feel her take my hand. Things I’d forgotten about suddenly were back like the shape of her arthritic curved hands in mine. I could feel them colder at the fingertips and warmer in the middle. I could see the ridges yellowed on her nails from having taken off the polish and laid in the sun. These images are perfectly clear to me even now. I can recall them easily and see it almost as if she were here next to me.
What does it mean when a loved one visits you in a dream?
When a loved one visits you in a dream, it is most likely to let you know that they are okay. To reassure you that they are whole and healed on the other side. They may also wish to put your mind at ease and let you know that they are a witness to your life and your journey. This can be a way for them to form a closer connection with you or to validate the feelings you have about wanting to connect with them.
Do the dead know we miss and love them?
The Spirit World possesses a divine love and intelligence. They are aware of most things in your life and have the vantage point of being able to see the past, present, and future for the divine plan that it is. They know you love and miss them and want to be a presence in your life as you continue on your journey. It may not feel the same as when they were physically present with you on the earth plane, but your loved ones may wish to continue a relationship with you from the other side.
How can I know my deceased loved one is okay?
Your deceased loved ones are whole and healthy in Spirit. Through my experience as a Medium and connecting with the Spirit World over the past 40 years, I have never encountered a Spirit person who was lost or suffering. Sometimes we may project our own human ideas onto the Spirit World and this is not helpful or necessary. Not everything exists as good or bad, punish or reward. I have encountered Spirit communicators that have regrets, would like to grow on a soul level, or make amends but they are okay.
After my own near death experience in 2004, I was able to see and experience the Spirit World and this strengthened my confidence in this belief. I was able to visit with a relative in life, who had Alzheimer's, and was perfectly lucid and at peace on the other side. I talked at length about this experience on The Psychic Matters Podcast.
3 Tips to Help Navigate Your Grief
1. Explore Grief & Loss Support
As someone who’s experienced significant loss, I understand that not everyone's journey and grief experience is the same. For times when you're feeling alone or isolated, it can be a comfort to seek support from others who “get it”. Seeking out a grief counselor or support group could be an important step. You might also find comfort in online communities. Here are some websites that myself or my clients have found helpful:
What’s Your Grief is a place for grief education, articles, sharing, support, and more.
Hope Floats Healing is a bereavement and educational center for adults, children, teens, and their families who are grieving, dealing with illness, or facing other life challenges.
Refuge in Grief is a grief support and writing community.
Be Ceremonial is the world’s first ceremony creation platform, empowering you to choose from secular and universal rituals to create a ceremony unique to you.
2. Learn About the Grief Experience & Seek Out Resources
Grief cause cause all sorts of physical symptoms we may not be aware of. Loss of appetite, fatigue, headaches, and nausea are all linked to grief. Learning more about the physical symptoms can help you make sense of the process.
Check out these articles to learn more about the physical symptoms of grief:
3. Read Top-Rated, Helpful Books on Grief & Loss
No matter where you are in your grief journey, The Grief Deck offers sensitive and supportive tools to help you process your emotions. It's 60 illustrated cards, created by a diverse array of artists and grief workers, offering thoughtful prompts, simple activities, richly textured artwork, and grounding resources for coping with loss.
It's Ok You're Not Ok by Megan Devine
Many people who have suffered a loss feel judged, dismissed, and misunderstood by a culture that wants to "solve" grief. Megan writes, "Grief no more needs a solution than love needs a solution". It's Ok That You're Not Ok is a book for grieving people, those who love them, and all those seeking to love themselves - and each other - better. In this book, you'll learn:
- Why well-meaning advice, therapy, and spiritual wisdom so often end up making it harder for people in grief
- How challenging the myths of grief - doing away with stages, timetables, and unrealistic ideals about how grief should unfold - allows us to accept it as a mystery to be honored instead of a problem to solve
- Practical guidance for managing stress, improving sleep, and decreasing anxiety without trying to "fix" your pain
Atlas of The Heart by Brené Brown
A beautiful book, Brown takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances - a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.
Grief is Love by Marisa Renee Lee
A trusted grief expert shares this compassionate guide on how to manage grief after the loss of a loved one and helps lead you to a point of “understanding eternal love for another” (said by Elaine Welteroth, New York Times best-selling author).
What's Your Grief? by Eleanor Haley, MS and Litsa Williams, MA, LCSW-C
A friendly and accessible book of 75 lists that will help anyone experiencing a change or loss — for readers of Maggie Smith, Cheryl Strayed, and Katherine May — from the creators of the popular What's Your Grief website and community.
Going Forward
Some people find that a Mediumship reading can provide greater clarity around receiving signs.
Your passed loved ones want to communicate with you and let you know they are with you and witnessing your life. During a Mediumship reading, Spirit people will often give evidence and validation of the signs they have been sending or will send.
“Your husband says there was a blue bird outside your window just this morning that made you think of him.”
“Your grandmother sends you cardinals.”
“Sometimes you smell smoke when your Dad is around you.”
“Your friend said he was there when you saw that Eagle. It was beautiful and made you think of him.”
“Your Mom loves drawing your attention to pennies with the year you were born.”
“When your son is near you, he says you smell sunshine on your face, It's like you can feel his warmth.”
This type of evidence in a reading helps to keep the connection going between my client and the Spirit World, and is a reminder of their passed loved ones' undying love that is always present.
Or continue your grief journey on your own time and learn more about recognizing signs in my book Uncovering Intuition, Guidance, Inspiration and Exercises to Unlock Your Inner Knowing.
