Answer: Great question. Instead of saying “multiple families” I would instead use the term “multiple loved ones.” When you die, you will be greeted by the souls and spirits of the people you have the strongest connection to, whether they are from your most recent life or a past one. Some of these folk may have been your family members in several lives. So yes, you will encounter spirits from previous lives who may not have been with you during the most recent life.

You will also encounter your spirit guides, who have guided you throughout your life but who may or may not have ever incarnated themselves. Love is love. Connection is connection. You will naturally be attracted to and reunited with the energies you felt closest to, from this life or others.

Once you cross over, you may merge right back in with your higher self, remembering all the previous times you’ve incarnated, or you may choose instead to hang on to the most recent personality and stay connected with your family who are still living.

This is why sometimes when I try to connect with deceased loved ones on the other side, they are simply not there anymore. They have sloughed off this ego and have merged back with their collective higher self consciousness. I can’t call “Uncle Charlie” if he, as a spirit, no longer identifies himself as Uncle Charlie. But if he’s around and still interested in what’s going on during this time period, he will often come through with support, love, and advice from the other side.

Answer: Most of the time a person does not choose to reincarnate so quickly. I often hear of people who say, “My grandmother died last week and then my niece was born and we’re pretty sure it’s grandma!” Uh no. Highly doubtful. Most souls do not reincarnate to the same family or that quickly either. So chances are excellent that anyone you knew in this life will be waiting and available for you when you cross over.

However, I believe that even if someone has reincarnated before you cross over, you can still reconnect with their higher self, who is always in the ether, anchoring their “player” who goes back to earth for another round of death and taxes.

You will see your loved ones again when you die.

Check out my ebook, The Other Side, for more information about what happens in the afterlife.

Answer:  More than one person has asked me this question recently, and in light of the recent deaths of so many celebrities (David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson) I figure it’s a good time to answer it.

Technically, the answer is yes.  You can interact with anyone on the other side as long as you both are willing.  At that point you will both be energy, not identity, and it won’t be as thrilling or exciting as you’re probably imagining it now. 

Remember that fame is something that happens here on Earth.  It’s not like Elvis is entertaining in the ether, performing 5 sold out shows per week.  His energy is there, sure, and you could probably even engage with him in some type of dialogue.  But once you arrive there  you will remember that Elvis is just an aspect of God consciousness, as you are, and the lure of celebrity will be gone.  What is left are our experiences, consciousness, and growth, not our bank accounts, notoriety, or fame.

There are some celebrities who may not have fully crossed over, though.  People who were murdered or committed suicide, or who really resist dying, could still be lingering around with their celebrity identities intact.  In those cases, when you died, you’d probably breeze right past them and not encounter them at all.  But these celebrities could still be communicated with by a psychic medium, and the celebrity would retain their identity, even though it would be healthier for them to let it go and cross over.

Remember that we live many lives.  You might get back to the ether and discover you were Cleopatra in a previous life, or Marilyn Monroe or Albert Einstein.  Wouldn’t that be a kick?  What if you’re the celebrity or famous person everyone wants to connect with and you don’t even remember who you were?  In the ether we are identified by our wisdom and our level of consciousness, not our record sales on Earth.

Answer:  You are greeted on the other side by Love.  You can expect to see angels, family, friends, and even your pets.  During readings I sometimes pick up on the energy of deceased pets as well as relatives and friends.  Pets do wait for us on the other side when there was a close, loving attachment on this side. 

Sometimes people ask if they will meet up with their abusive parent on the other side.  You may or may not.  It’s not like a voice comes up on a loud speaker and says, “Will the relatives of Joe Smith please meet Joe at the pearly gates.  Joe Smith.  All relatives of Joe Smith please report to the pearly gates now please.  He’s on his way!”  They will be drawn to your side by the ties of love when you cross over. 

Sometimes people have a religious experience when they cross over, meeting up with God or Jesus or whomever they believe will greet them.  Sometimes you’re with an angel who helps you understand what happened to you, as sometimes people aren’t aware that they’re dead. 

If you read accounts of near-death experiences, you’ll see that often people are told by a deceased relative that it’s not their time to die.  You’ll also read accounts of people who are greeted by pets, family, and friends on the other side. 

Love never dies.  You will see your loved ones again on the other side. 

The only caveat to this is if you send yourself to Hell and disconnect from the Light.  And on some occasions I’ve seen relatives who have cut the cords between them and their earthly families for whatever reason, and I would not expect to see them when you cross over.

Answer:  When you cross over the chances are excellent you’ll be greeted by your loved ones.  That’s sort of a loaded sentence so let me break it down into its component parts.

First, when you cross over you might be greeted by deceased loved ones, or angels, or your spirit guides, or even God or Jesus, depending on your beliefs, desires, and expectations at the time of your demise.

Second, if you are greeted by deceased family members, some of them may be people who were abusive towards you while you were both alive, and sometimes those people aren’t there when you cross over.  Let me explain that further.

When abusive people cross over they have the same life review that everyone has, where they get to see the effect of their behavior on the people they affected.  They are given the opportunity to forgive themselves for their behavior.  Some choose to forgive, others can’t forgive themselves and healing must happen.   When they are done with their life review and done processing everything that happened in that incarnation, they merge back with their higher self, and go join the other energies in the afterlife.  Reunions are had, love is expressed, I hear there’s coffee and donuts.

So when you cross over, that abusive person you knew is no longer as they were when you knew them.  You may choose not to connect with them, but you will be able to sense their higher self, not that lower, incarnated, abusive self.  Still, you get your life review, you do your processing, and then you decide who you will share your energy with on the other side.  My personal advice is to stay open because you might find something you weren’t expecting on the other side.

Having said all of that, there are occasions when abusive people cannot forgive themselves for the suffering they caused.  They sometimes have a hard time fully crossing over and embracing their higher self.  I’ve seen people on the other side, usually people who have committed suicide and are filled with regret, shame, or guilt, who are not hanging out happily with their other deceased loved ones.  I’ve done readings where I can see one part of a family coming through together, and another relative off to the side, who appears not to be connected with the core family.  I personally feel sad when I see that, but such is life.  They will eventually heal and end up where they need to go.

So to sum up:  You don’t have to communicate or have contact with anyone on the other side that you don’t want to, but I think when you arrive you’ll find a different person than you were expecting.  We’re human, we make mistakes, we make bad choices sometimes.  Sometimes those choices negatively affect others.  It’s all about forgiveness.  I urge you to forgive an abusive parent.  It helps them heal, and it helps you heal.  During your own life review you’ll gain some perspective on how they became abusive.  Understanding is the first step towards forgiving.