It was so nice to put work aside these past three days and focus on family. The weather was outstanding, so we resodded some areas in the backyard that were bare (because Rune sprayed the area with Roundup to get rid of the weeds. Well, it got rid of everything.) I resodded it before (muttering some choice words about my husband under my breath) but it didn’t take. I think it was because it was during the hottest time of the year and I didn’t water it enough every day. Getting my hands muddy and putting new life in my yard went a long way to help me heal from recent events. Actually, the way I garden, my entire body gets pretty dirty. The good news is that there’s a bacteria in soil that enters tiny cuts in the skin and increases our natural morphine levels, endorphins.

We have also been looking around the neighborhood for potential homes for my eldest, Kristina, and her husband because they move back to Houston in July and they want to be in our neighborhood! Can you believe that? I’m so excited because that will make it so much easier to pick up her dog, Gidget, for playdates and to take care of future grandkids. Where we live in the Villages, the crime rate is very low and the schools are excellent. They want a house they can live in for at least 30 years. Rune and I have looked at a number of homes for them but so far they’re either too expensive or clearly not as nice as their pictures in Zillow or HAR.com implied. We’ll keep looking!

By the way, it’s time for me to accept questions for the Ask Erik column so send them to me at emedhus@gmail.com before tomorrow at 8:00 AM CT. I can only take the first 10-12. If you’ve already had a question answered, please consider giving others a chance to pose theirs. 

Now enjoy the second installation of our Trump series.

Me: Will Trump help the Latino, African American and LGBT communities like he says?

Erik: He will, but he won’t be as effective as he anticipated, but I don’t know that it’s a priority of his at first.

Me: Okay.

Erik: Sooner or later, he’ll address it, but it’s not a priority.

Me: Erik, you’re being so obscure! Jesus!

Kim: Talk about being in the hot seat!

Poor Kim.

Me: Oh, I know. Sorry! Let me tell my husband to stop calling me.

I told him I had a session this morning, but you know how husbands are.

Me: Is he a racist?

Erik: He has very strong opinions.

Erik gets close to the camera and bounces his eyebrows up and down.

Erik: He has very strong opinions about certain types of people, Mom, because of his personal experience.

Kim: He pushes this back into his past. I don’t know what he’s been through in his past, but it’s kind of like when someone has done something wrong to you or made something difficult, you hold onto that, and I think that’s where his issues stem from.

Me: Does he respect women?

Erik: Respect, yes, but he still thinks women are up here (he puts his left hand high) and women are down here (he puts his right hand lower.)

Me: Okay. Will the Supreme Court of the United States—

Erik: He can respect. (He laughs.) He can respect and be civil with them, but he still sees them as less than.

Me: Ah. Will the Supreme Court become more conservative as he appoints new ones that replace the ones that retire and is this a good or bad thing?

Erik: Yes, but in fear. The justices will become very cautious of every move they make because of fear.

Kim: I don’t know what they’re afraid of.

Erik: Leaving a trail.

Kim: It’s almost like they don’t want to be known. They don’t want to be known for the decisions they make or actions they take. So it seems like they’re going to be very cautious, very apprehensive to—

Me: Well, maybe it’s because the public has gotten more liberal. The U.S. had become more liberal so it’s hard for them to be conservative. Is that why?

Erik: Yeah, because they’re afraid. It’s very similar to how people don’t want to be known for who they voted for now.

Me: I know!

Erik: They’re afraid of how people would judge them.

Me: Is it good or bad to have originalists, those who interpret the Constitution as the original document, versus an activist who legislates from the bench and thinks the Constitution is a living, breathing document? What’s better?

Erik: I see it as a bad thing because—of course there’s a foundation, Mom, but it’s stunting growth. It’s not allowing change and evolution. It provides a foundation, but it’s not allowing change. Forward progression. We’re going to continue to evolve in radical ways. Continually subjecting ourselves to this document is like reeling ourselves in, pulling ourselves back.

Kim: So he sees it as a barrier to growth.

Me: Okay. Let’s go on really quickly. Will he drain the swamp as he says and get rid of a lot of the Washington corruption? There is so much on both sides of the aisle.

Kim: Erik literally stepped into Trump’s shoes, acted like Trump and goes, “Mark my words.” So I think that’s a yes.

Me: Oh, good. Will he establish term limits? I’m very doubtful about that one, but they can grandfather it in like, “Okay, anybody who retires, the one that comes in has term limits.”

Kim: He’s showing me, again, I don’t think this is an actual priority of his. You were breaking up a little bit, so I didn’t quite hear you, but Erik is still responding.

Erik: There will be caps, but it’s not on the list of priorities.

So much to do, so little time.

Me: Okay, but he’ll eventually establish term limits?

Erik: He will. It’s going to take some time, though.

Me: Okay. I’m surprised about that. Will he build the wall/fence in part or in whole?

Erik: Yes, but again, it’s one of those great intentions—

Kim: It’s interesting how he shows it to me. He shows it to me like, he says, yes, and he shows me that everything is there to manifest it except pulling the trigger on it. So I don’t know if it’s just not on his priority list, or—

Me: Well, he might have to battle a lot of people for that, and we need the money for it too, but… Is he immigrant friendly? I mean, is he pro legal immigration?

Erik: What do you consider “friendly?”

Kim laughs.

Me: In other words, he says he’ll build a wall, but it will have a door through it so that people can come through, not really a, I’m talking figuratively. That way, people can come in legally. We’re a nation of immigrants but legal immigrants.

Kim: He wants to answer your question about whether he’s friendly because it’s a hot topic.

Me: Okay.

Erik: Friendly with immigrants? Well, it depends on what you consider “friendly.”

Kim: This is Erik’s perspective, so don’t hate the messenger.

Erik: He sees them as a source of corruption.

Kim: I don’t really know what that means. It’s like he needs to keep them away or push them away.

Erik: But you have to look at the bigger picture, Mom. This is going to ruffle some feathers, but let’s fuck it up! Let’s just shake things up a little bit!

Kim laughs.

Me: Yeah, c’mon!

Erik: You have to look at the bigger picture. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you came from. If you have to see someone and identify them as different or put your own judgment or biases on them, then you’re forgetting why you even exist.

He leans back in the chair, crosses his arms and looks annoyed.

Kim: In the way he sees Trump and how he views immigrants, I think he can be civil with them and friendly, but he still has this judgment against them, and he can’t accept who they are because of that label. In the bigger scheme of things, he makes me feel like that Trump is asleep. He’s not conscious. He’s not awake.

Me: Okay. I believe that. Will he cut our taxes or at least give some relief to the middle class?

Erik: Yes.

Me: Any little bit is better than nothing. Will wages go up?

Erik (very matter of fact): Yeah.

Me: Will the country be more polarized or will he eventually help unite us over time?

Kim: This is how Erik answers your question. It’s funny how animated he can be. Sometimes he’ll use words; other times he’ll just use image, and he sat back, intentionally zipped his lips and went like this.

Kim brings both hands together, touch each fingertip of one hand to the fingertip on the other hand.

Me: Okay.

Kim: He’s showing me there’ll be more union.

Me: Well, if the economy does well, that’s a big unifying force! The economy is so important to people. You have to have food on the table and a roof over your head. Is this the beginning of the decline of America? A blog member is asking that. Boy, they sure do give him a lot of power.

Kim: No kidding, and that’s exactly how he’s answering this.

Erik: If you choose to see it that way, that’s how you’ll experience it. First of all, address your personal perspective and how you anticipate this whole presidency. Now, set that aside and allow yourself to accept what is and how it’s happening. To more directly answer that on a human note, the human level, this is not the beginning of a financial decline.

Kim: This is what he makes me feel because he’s communicating with clairsentience. It feels like I have more enemies now, like I am America, and now I feel like I have more enemies.

Me: Yeah, because he wants a more nationalistic approach instead of a globalistic approach. He wants to make us more of a sovereign nation and honor American exceptionalism, which a lot of other countries balk at. “I mean, what makes America so special?” It makes us seem kind of arrogant. Well, will he make America great again as he promises?

Erik: Yes, but sadly through fear.

Me: ISIS will fear us?

Erik: Other countries will fear us. Is that really great?

Me: Well in what way will he make us great? Just economically?

Erik: Financial strength. This is the trickle down effect. Financial strength and security down into the middle class home with things being a little safer so people can breathe easier. Think about the trickle down effect, and then there’ll be a collateral effect. So everybody is generally happier and life is a little bit easier. People get along better, but as a whole, there’s fear associated with it, too, highly associated with other countries.

Fascinating stuff! Stay tuned for Part Three on Wednesday! Also, be sure to order your copy of Erik’s book, My Life After Death: A Memoir from Heaven, in any format for your summer reading this year. It’s a wonderful page turner and will leave you with little doubt about what death and the afterlife is like. Don’t stop there because you can devour that book in a few days. Also pick up a copy of my book, My Son and the Afterlife: Conversations from the Other Side. In this book, too, Erik divulges details about death, the afterlife and life as a spirit, but he also shares bigger concepts like time, Love and God. The framework is my journey from skepticism to belief. Together, both books cost less than $16 and it would really support my cause! They come in 5 different formats: Paperback, Nook, Kindle, Audible, and CD.