what do spirits look like? a peek inside the other side - post by liv lane

I think I have something in common with police sketch artists. You know, the ones who visualize and draw images of criminals based only on descriptions from others? When those artists later see what a captured criminal really looks like, that’s where our experiences intersect. To see how closely the portrait they imagined and sketched resembles the person’s real-life image has to feel equally bizarre and amazing. 

That’s precisely how I feel whenever I see the real-life image of someone I’ve communicated with in spirit. It’s totally bizarre. And totally amazing.

I’m a visual person, so I’m grateful that when I communicate with spirits, guides and angels, the universe lets me see them in addition to hearing them. Of course, none of them needs an earthly body to exist in the Great Beyond. But the spirits of human beings who have crossed over appear to me with physical attributes for several reasons:

  • to illustrate their personalities, passions or happiest times in their lives (a dad of a dear friend, for instance, always shows up in a sweatshirt celebrating his favorite football team; turns out cheering for them was a favorite pastime)
  • to show me when they were alive (World War II vets sometimes show up in uniform and with a sepia tone to them, for example)
  • to get me to share something relevant that will resonate for the person on the other end of the line (one spirit kept pointing to her curly, perfectly coifed hairdo, wanting her daughter to know she was finally getting her hair done again!)

I never really know if the images I’m seeing of spirits are truly what they looked like in real life – unless I’m shown a photograph of them later. And that, my friends, is a take-my-breath-away WILD experience.

Several months ago, I was texting with a friend who was at the bedside of her dying grandpa. His wife (her grandma, whom I’d never met) came through to me to say she was excitedly waiting in Heaven…and could her husband hurry up already!? 🙂 She didn’t look like a grandma to me, though; she showed up as a young woman – in black & white – reminiscent of a 1940s photo. My friend said that made sense, because her grandparents were so happy and carefree at that time. A few hours after that exchange with my friend, my heart skipped a beat when I looked at my phone and, for a split second, thought the spirit of her grandma was staring back at me. My friend had texted me an old black & white photo of her grandma as a young woman, and she looked exactly like she did when she’d come to me hours earlier!

A similiar thing happened the other day – on Facebook. I was scrolling through my feed when – bam! – I got chills seeing the photo of a woman I recognized. She died on 9/11 and I’d done a reading for her mom several years ago (one of my first!). A mutual friend posted a picture on Facebook in her honor – and it took my breath away. You guys, it is the weirdest thing to wonder, “where do I know that person from?” only to realize you only know them from communicating with their spirit!

Even though this is part of my everyday life, I am still completely amazed each time it happens. Every speck of validation, every word that resonates with those left behind, every physical image that resembles the spirit images I’ve seen are reminders to me that anything is possible in the name of Love. Our loved ones do not forget us, they do not forget their earthly lives, and they do not lose their personalities – or even their favorite outfits! Yes – I’m very lucky to get to see them; but that’s not necessary to feel their love, to trust they’re present, to communicate with them in your own ways.

So, say hello. Blow them kisses. Trust the signs and symbols they send. Even if you can’t see them loving you, they can see you loving them.

“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.” 
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince