Can you smell the cigarette smoke?
Shortly after my father passed, I often experienced a strong smell of cigarette smoke. Even though I searched, I was not able to locate where it came from. When I asked other people if they smelled the smoke, their response was, “No, what smoke?”
It became more frequent, especially at night just as I was about to go to sleep or in the middle of my seminars and even when I was alone in my vehicle. The scent seemed more powerful when I felt stressed or needed emotional support. I finally shared this with my mother. She responded with excitement as she too was experiencing the cigarette smoke phenomenon. On further investigation, my sister did as well. We all discussed what we thought it was and agreed as Dad was an avid smoker it was his way of communicating with us.
Mom asked “Why does he have to smoke?” I responded with “Well Mom, once you are on the other side we will know you’re with us when we smell lilacs!”
During one of my ‘Communing with Dolphins’ retreats in Hawaii, we celebrated my mother’s birthday. As a surprise gift, my sister and I commissioned ‘David’, a talented artist, to create a painting of a magical moment my mother experienced while she swam with non-captive dolphins. It was a very tender moment that moved my mother to tears of joy and gratitude. A mother Dolphin brought her baby right up to Mom, as if to say how proud she was and that love is precious.
Several days later, we enjoyed yet another beautiful bright sunny day. Our house offered privacy and was at ocean’s edge. Mom and several friends were relaxing on the Lanai. As my sister and I approached to gift the completed painting, we were overwhelmed by an intense smell of cigarette smoke. Only this time, everyone smelled it. My sister and I looked at each other, smiled and said “Hi Dad”. Mom caught our eyes, smiled and beamed in acknowledgment. We knew if Dad was still alive, he would have been over the top with excitement in anticipation of her receiving the gift. A gift that now has even deeper meaning.
The sense of smell is entwined with our daily experiences. The smell of a favorite meal cooking, a fragrance, flowers, freshly cut grass, or someone smoking a cigarette brings a full body memory or experience associated with that scent. We perceive scents through one of our five physical senses. What can explain the experience and the presence of a scent without a physical source? This can only be perceived by our ‘Sixth sense’. This also can elicit an experience and be a means of communication. It then becomes a ‘spiritual experience’…a precious moment in time when our hearts can once again open to the possibilities of love reaching beyond this dimension.
Blessings,
Hannelore
This story is in my upcoming book, The Other Side of the Window, Communing Beyond the Veil