The other day, I was out in the backyard with Bella when I noticed a big nest way up high near the top of one of the pine trees. I thought, ‘That’s too big to be a squirrel’s nest unless the squirrel has a major Type A personality or is an overachiever.’ Then, moments later, I saw a huge red-tailed hawk fly out of it. Since Bella is only 3 pounds sopping wet, I’m scared that adding a few more hawks to our backyard will pose a huge risk. They might not be able to carry off, but they could do great damage with their sharp talons and beaks and at least drag her off to a place where they could pretty much eviscerate her. Gross. So I called the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Center to see what our options are. I know these hawks are federally protected and rightfully so, but I also know that the nests can be relocated if you have a federal permit. They gave me a number to call someone who gave me another number to call someone who gave me another number to call and, well, 9 numbers later, I talked to someone who really knows the laws. He said essentially there’s nothing we can do. The only time they relocate nests is under cases like when they’re on power lines and pose a fire hazard. But he also assured me that as long as a human being is in the yard with her, the hawk won’t grab her. If they do, they’ll immediately release her when they realize she’s not a part of their usual menu. Of course, that might be too late because she might have a whole lot of extra ventilation holes by that time. Have you heard of any stories of pets being scooped up by hawks while their owner stand helplessly by? 

Enough of the scary stuff. Let’s see what today’s Best of Erik is about.

Me: Do our loved ones think about us, or have they moved on and we’re just a memory?

(Pause)

Jamie: Erik, don’t say that.

Erik: Wouldn’t it be fucked up if we just said: Hell no. When you die, you totally move on, because that shit is old.

Me: Erik! That’d be awful!

Erik: No, we think about them all the time, because we still have the choice of seeing them, and for the first time—I hope every reader understands this—when you let go of life and you cross into a higher dimensional plane—Heaven—

Jamie (chuckling): He pauses. He’s like, “Fuck Heaven.”

Me: Yeah, because he likes to call it Home.

Erik: It’s for the first time, you look back on the relations you had, and they’re healed on your part. They’re healed. There’s no pull; there’s no fight; there’s no ugliness. It turns out all good. It’s a great Christmas wish, really. Sorry to the other religions there. That was just a shout out to the Catholics.

Jamie and I laugh.

Erik: Okay, you can use birthday—a nice birthday gift. I’m really enjoying the variety of people that are on the blog, because it’s really not just one denomination.

Me: Oh, no. Oh my god, we have all sorts.

Jamie: He’s just so proud of that.

Me: Probably not too many atheists, though.

Erik: Not many, no.

Me: When you guys watch us from Heaven, do you wish you were with us?

Erik (laughing): Not all the time!

Me (laughing): I guess not! But if you did wish, you would be with us. Well, do spirits feel sad? Is there ever sadness or loneliness in Heaven?

Erik: Only if you want it. You can only special order it for yourself.

Me: Why would anybody want that! Is it just to feel a sense of separation that they don’t usually feel there?

Erik: I don’t know. Some people are fucked in the head here, too. Seriously, it’s more of—they’ve been shown the lesson and every possibility to heal, but there might be that one thing that kind of slips back to them and they feel sad about it.

Me: Oh!

Erik: And normally that will heal when the person who’s still living passes over and they can have a clear communication together, and then often if that person finds a medium or a psychic or whatever they call themselves, they can go to them, and then the spirit can heal in that way and let go of it.

Me: So, sometimes it’s the deceased loved one that needs to communicate through a medium to heal.

Erik: Yes. That’s often the way it goes.

Me: I always thought it was the other way around.

Erik: Well, yeah. That’s because you’re there. You don’t see our side of the fence.

Me: I guess not. Okay. here’s one. Are bad emotions like jealousy and bitterness gone in Heaven? I guess that’s pretty much along the same lines.

Erik: Yeah, it’s along the same lines. If you want it, you can special order it for yourself, but it doesn’t trigger anybody else in spirit.

Me: Probably on the dollar menu, huh?

Erik: It’s totally on the dollar menu! You know what’s kind of fucked up though is —I don’t know if you wanna spill this, but I kind of like your “all honesty policy,” Mom. So, let’s say that I’m jealous or I’m angry. Then the person I’m hanging out with in spirit won’t feel it. They can see that I’m having those emotions, but they won’t feel it. It just doesn’t translate that way. Now, if I’m hanging with a live dude on Earth, they can feel it. I can totally fuck up the way that they’re feeling on Earth.

Me: Oh, no!

Erik: But that’s like what we were saying on several occasions when we do mini-readings or lessons that the son or the daughter who passed away or the family member trying to communicate; that human can feel that loved one there. If it’s a negative emotion, it sometimes just fucks them up even more instead of making them feel good.

Me: Sometimes I feel grief when you’re around, Erik. I feel your presence and then the grief washes over me. But I try to mitigate that by thinking, ‘Oh hi. Erik; how are you doing? I know you’re around and I love you; I’m happy for you and I’m proud of you.’ It transmutes the grief into joy. Not complete joy, but a little bit.

Erik: That sucks because normally we’re there to really help, but —

Me: Yeah, but once you know that your loved one’s energy is causing the grief and then you feel the goosebumps on some part of your body, that helps. But for people who don’t realize that connection it must really suck. You’re right.

Erik: Yeah, and they go through these fits of odd emotions, and they think they’re fucked in the head and they get medicine and…

Me: Oh God.

Erik: Spiritualists, scientists and physicians really should be all together in the same boat. They shouldn’t be divided anymore.

Me: I know; I agree.