When the Departed Speak: Understanding True Spiritual Communication

A dimly lit spiritual altar arranged for mediumship, featuring candles, sacred objects, and symbolic items used for connecting with the spirit world and understanding energetic shells and true spiritual communication.

When the Departed Speak

Understanding True Spiritual Communication

Most people assume that if a loved one has crossed over, they should still be standing close by—showing signs, visiting dreams, or leaving messages. It’s comforting for some to think that way.

But the majority of spirits do not linger simply because we miss them.

Most souls continue their journey back to the Creator God. They don’t stay stuck in emotional traffic trying to comfort the living or live through them. When genuine communication happens, it’s because the contact is purposeful and aligned with both spirits involved.

Can mediums reach your departed? They will connect to what’s with you—a shell holding on to the essence of your loved one, infused with your memories of them. In most cases, that is what responds first because it sits closest to the living and is easiest to access.

Before continuing, it’s important to understand that there are three very different forms of spiritual presence that people often confuse with one another:

1. The energetic shell or imprint
2. The soul that has moved on
3. The soul that chooses not to leave the earth plane

Mediums often connect with the first because it remains within reach. The second continues on its spiritual path. And only a small minority fall into the third category.

As a spiritual healer, I originally understood the term lost soul to refer to spirits who linger. Over time, through direct healing experience and later through a vivid dream, I came to recognize a deeper truth: there are no lost souls.

There are souls who choose to remain in this dimension. The phrase lost soul implies confusion or aimless wandering, when in reality some simply do not wish to leave the earth plane entirely. Because of this, I could only assist in liberating the ones who were spiritually ready to move on.

Many assume these souls stay out of fear or attachment to the life they once lived. But in practice, the majority are willing—sometimes even eager—to return to the Creator God and continue their journey beyond this world.

Why Would the Departed Stay Behind?

This is an honest question.

A soul that has completed its earthly work moves on. What remains is not the soul itself, but the emotional tether created by those who are grieving.

Love, grief, and longing can hold energy in place, and that attachment must be released. Releasing a loved one is not forgetting them. It is letting go of the emotional cord, so healing can begin, allowing memories of love and joy to remain without being trapped in grief.

A Spiritual Science Reflection by Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns, President & Founder, National Spiritual Science Center Historical Society.

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November 5, 2025December 3, 2025

What Are Prophetic Dreams? Warnings – Messages – Protection

When Dreams Speak

Everyone dreams, but not everyone remembers or understands what’s happening. Dreams aren’t random stories the brain plays at night. They’re spiritual communications and insights.

Psychology may analyze dreams through symbols and theories, but those who walk with Spirit experience them as sacred communication. Dreams can teach, warn, reveal, and protect. They’re one of the oldest ways the Divine speaks when we’re still enough to listen.

How Psychology Explains Dreams

Psychology breaks dreams into categories like lucid, recurring, and nightmares, describing how they happen, and sometimes why.

It helps us understand the mind’s activity, but Spirit goes deeper.

Spirit Speaks Through Dreams

In my experience, dreams go far beyond psychology. They carry direct messages from the Divine and reveal truth through confirmation in waking life.

This list doesn’t apply to every dream — each one should be analyzed to discern its meaning.

- Divine Message Dreams – Spirit or the Higher Self speaks through symbols, visions, and direction.
- Guidance Dreams – Offer guidance, correction, or reassurance.
- Prophetic Dreams – Show future events before they occur.
- Warning Dreams – Alert you to danger, deception, or spiritual warfare.
- Energetic Defense Dreams – Occur during lucid dreaming when the conscious mind becomes aware of an enemy attack.
- Truth-Revealing Dreams – Expose hidden motives, witchcraft, and reveal enemies.
- Visitation Dreams – Bring messages of good fortune, truth, or comfort from ancestors and loved ones.

Each one is a message from Spirit. Some dreams are fleeting. They entertain or drift through the mind, leaving little trace by morning.

But the dreams that carry purpose or a message, you won’t forget. They linger because they require action to manifest.

Spirit makes sure those stay with you until you do something about them.Final Thought

Dreams bypass logic and ego to reach the conscious mind.
The moment you wake, pause and ask:

“What is Spirit showing me?”

Your dream might be the very message your soul has been waiting to deliver.

In my experience, I’ve learned that not every dream is meant to be shared with others, especially if it involves them. Dreams, like psychic readings, can change the moment someone learns about them. Just as in a lucid dream, awareness can alter the outcome.

In life, the same truth applies — we all have the power to change our outcomes.

If the dream is about you, honor the message, even when it reveals truth. If it concerns someone you know, keep it to yourself unless they give you permission to share.

Respecting someone’s privacy is important because that person may symbolize an aspect or attribute of yourself within a dream. If you don’t understand your dream, find someone who does.

A Spiritual Science Field Investigation by Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns, President & Founder, National Spiritual Science Center Historical Society.

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September 9, 2025January 24, 2026

What Is a Spiritual Minister?

Understanding the Role Beyond Religion

When You’re Called to Divine Service

Spiritual callings don’t always come through formal ordination, initiation, ancestral rites, or being told by a spiritual leader. They often arrive through a dream, a strong inner knowing, vision, or a profound moment of awakening — guided by the soul.

In 1997, my own calling came in a dream—one that left me in tears and full of questions. Not knowing where to turn, I reached out to a cousin I trusted — a devout Christian woman, passionate about her faith. She pointed me toward a church her godson pastored.

But what I experienced there didn’t align with the inner truth stirring within me.

The leaders practiced a form of “healing,” but something felt off. I wasn’t even a spiritual scientist at the time—I was still walking a Christian path. That experience, however, marked the beginning of my transition.

He preached, saying those seeking positions just wanted to be “superstars” — implying folks had to start at the bottom and earn their place. I truly believed the church would be welcoming, but I quickly learned that Christian churches often weren’t. What he said reflected how many churches operate — you don’t grow because you’re called, you grow by playing into hierarchy and favoritism. Perplexed, I didn’t know what my next move would be, so I left it to my inner God.

And that week, Spirit answered.

A newsletter arrived from a metaphysical church I had previously visited. It listed a class: Platform Healing. I read the description and said to my inner God, “It’s a start.” That newsletter became my confirmation.

I enrolled, completed the course, and served in that church as a spiritual healer for 1+ years. Eventually, like all souls called to grow, it was time for me to walk my own path.

What Is a Spiritual Minister?

In spiritual science, a minister is not simply a title — it is a role of service grounded in universal principles, personal development, and conscious spiritual alignment.

A spiritual minister does not represent a single religious tradition. Instead, they serve from a place of inner attunement, metaphysical understanding, and respect for the God within each soul.

We recognize that people are gifted in many ways:

- Clairvoyance (clear seeing)
- Clairaudience (clear hearing)
- Clairsentience (clear feeling)
- Prophecy, spiritual healing, intuitive knowing, or divine wisdom

These gifts are sacred inheritances entrusted by God — carried through the bloodline and safeguarded by the Divine and ancestral angels.

When trained and developed consciously, these gifts are used with integrity, responsibility, accountability, and always harmlessly.

Why Traditional Religion Often Suppresses Spiritual Gifts

Religious institutions may preach about gifts of the spirit, but often limit them to what’s sanctioned by hierarchy. When spiritual gifts appear outside of that control — in independent healers, dreamers, seers, and intuitives — they are sometimes dismissed, demonized, or labeled “dangerous.”

But spiritual gifts are not meant to be contained by dogma.
They are assigned by the Divine before birth — and they require only discipline, humility, love, and discernment.

Why the World Needs Spiritual Ministers Now

As people walk away from traditional religion, many are not rejecting God — they are reclaiming their spiritual autonomy.

Spiritual ministers serve those who:

- Are spiritually gifted but misunderstood
- Seek metaphysical healing and growth
- Desire sacred rituals rooted in spiritual science
- Wish to walk their path without fear or guilt
- Want teachers and guides who see beyond doctrine

Spiritual ministers meet people where they are and help them connect with their higher self and inner God.

A Note on Labels

Though I’ve sometimes used the term “non-denominational” for familiarity, it doesn’t truly represent what I do. Spiritual ministry is a path of service, soul development, and conscious alignment — not a label for convenience.

Many Expressions, One Source

Spirituality has many expressions. The Science of the Spirit teaches that God is within all things, and that spiritual growth is personal, evolving, and eternal.

As spiritual ministers in the metaphysical tradition, we honor that diversity — and encourage each soul to develop its gifts with purpose, responsibility, and love.

Close Reflection

There are places the soul can visit that no plane, boat, or footpath can reach. The temple in Spiritland is one such place — existing in the unseen, reachable only through meditation, stillness, and divine alignment. It is not a physical sanctuary, but a sacred vision available to those who seek truth, knowledge, and wisdom on the astral plane.

🕊️ If you’ve ever felt called, gifted, or disconnected from traditional religion, you are not alone — and you are not lost. Your gifts are real. Your path is sacred. And your journey is valid.

Need a deeper insight, follow our blog.

A Spiritual Science Reflection by Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns — President & Founder, National Spiritual Science Center Historical Society

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July 26, 2025January 7, 2026

Shackles Now Have Diamonds: The Spiritual Energy Behind Rings and Gifts

📝 The Gifts of Love

There was a time when shackles were made of iron.
Now? They come with clarity ratings and matching bands.

People don’t recognize them because they’re beautiful.
They come with tears of joy and a vision of life ever after.
They symbolize the epitome of love.

A diamond ring photographed in dramatic lighting, styled to resemble a shackle — representing the energetic bindings that can be hidden within jewelry.

But in some cases — and not all, but enough to be worth discussing — a ring can be more than symbolic.

It can be charged.
It can be weighted with desire, fear, even domination.
It can be spiritually “programmed,” whether consciously or unconsciously, to bind another person’s will.

That may sound dramatic. But if you’ve walked the spiritual path long enough, you know — energy doesn’t care about optics. It cares about intention.

🤔 Is It Just Me?

This isn’t about one person. One ring. Or one story.
This is about what we, as spiritual beings in human form, need to remember.

Objects carry energy.
Jewelry, in particular, is worn on the body — often over energy centers, pulse points, or places of deep symbolic meaning.

A ring can symbolize love, security, commitment, protection, and fidelity.
But a necklace from a past partner will have a different meaning and purpose.
An heirloom ring never spiritually cleansed can be embumed with the thoughts of the departed:

- If that person’s thoughts were fear-based, it can be damaging for you.
- If for her it was a burden, it will be for you.
- If it represented wealth she wanted and deserved, then it will be love.

Look at the relationship with their spouse to determine the energy.

A gift given after an argument — not in love, but in manipulation.
Rings can carry emotional residue, energetic hooks, and in rare cases, more serious attachments.

One would think this is about belief.
But it’s about spiritual or religious practice.

Every tradition does something to infuse objects with meaning or energy:

- Churches bless water, oil, rings, altars, and more.
- In temples, statues are awakened with ceremony.
- In homes, scrolls are hung, prayer beads are used, and symbols are worn close to the body.

Whether it’s called sacred, holy, or ancestral, the purpose is the same:
To make something physical hold something spiritual.

So this idea of energy being in a ring or a gift?
It’s not strange.
It’s just part of how spirit has always worked through us — no matter what name we call it.

🧘🏾‍♀️What Spiritual Science Teaches Us

In the practice of spiritual science, we are taught that:

- Every object has vibrational residue
- Every emotion leaves a spiritual imprint
- And every intention — good or bad — has energetic consequence

Love given in fear… can create bondage.
A gift given with control… can feel like ownership.
And an object shared with spiritual intent — even unconsciously — can create energetic interference we don’t always recognize right away.

We also learn the principle of detachment — the spiritual ability to release attachments to things and objects.

So when you lose it, you can go on.

That’s why spiritual science calls us to stay aware — not suspicious, but present.

Sometimes the only sign something isn’t right is a quiet inner shift.
Nothing dramatic. Just a knowing. A pause. A question that won’t go away.

🧂 So What Do You Do?

Here’s the truth: awareness is your first line of defense.
You don’t need rituals dripping in drama or one-size-fits-all “cleansing” techniques.

But if you suspect an object carries energy that doesn’t feel right to you — here are some suggestions to intentionally disconnect from it.

Let me stop you here:
If this is relationship-related, you’re not disconnecting from the relationship.
You’re disconnecting from the giver’s intent over you through the object — the one you love to wear every day.

How to Clear an Object

I’m going to keep this simple.
But I will say that some energy isn’t easy to remove.
In cases like that, it’s best to consult with someone who can feel the energy.
They should be able to tell you how to cleanse it.

Here are a few simple methods:

- Set it down in a safe place and step away. Pay attention to how your body and thoughts feel when it’s not near you.
- Ask spirit for clarity. Not to “bless it,” but to show you what’s behind it.
- Cleanse it physically.
  If it’s real gold, platinum, diamonds, or other fine stones:
  Sit it in salt for 3 days. (Only if it won’t harm the jewelry.)
- Bury it in real dirt for 3 hours or 3 days.
  Say an affirmation to release the energy into the earth.

I’ll be honest — things are much deeper than I’m sharing here.
But this will help the gently infused items.

Need a spiritual cleansing, follow our blog.

A Spiritual Science Reflection by Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns — President & Founder, National Spiritual Science Center Historical Society

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June 25, 2025October 2, 2025

Thought Forms: Part 2 – The Ones We Build Ourselves

When We’re the Ones Feeding the Thought Forms

Not all thought forms come from outside attacks.
Some of the most persistent ones are the ones we build—unknowingly—through our own emotional loops.

When we replay an experience over and over again—especially rejection, betrayal, or deep disappointment—we build vibrational imprints that don’t just live in the mind. They take form. They linger in the emotional and etheric body. They cling to the solar plexus, the heart, even the throat.

It starts as a simple memory.
Then we rehash it.
Then we talk about it.
Then we dream about it.
Then we relive it.

And now it’s no longer just a passing thought—it’s an energetic structure.
A thought form.

Fueled by repetition. Reinforced by emotion. Anchored by belief.

How We Create Our Own Attachments

You may feel it as a heaviness in your chest when you think about that person.
Or a tightness in the gut when you’re about to speak your truth.
Sometimes it comes as a flash of sadness or anger when you least expect it.

These are signs that your own thought forms are still active.
Still charged.
Still drawing energy.

And even worse—still shaping your present moment.

How to Begin Releasing What You Created

You’re not cursed. You’re not stuck. But you are entangled.

Here’s how I’ve seen it cleared in spiritual healing work:

Step one is recognition. Naming what’s there gives it form—and what has form can be cleared.
Step two is responsibility. You may not have deserved the pain, but the looping is yours.
Step three is reset. That may be visualization, prayer, breathwork, or even forgiveness—but it must be intentional and repetitive to dissolve what was built the same way.

Sometimes I’ve had to say:
“I forgive the moment, not the action.”
“I release the replay, not the lesson.”
“I dissolve the loop, not the truth of what I felt.”

Because what you felt was real. But what you built doesn’t have to stay.

From Metaphysics to Real Life

Leadbeater and Besant wrote about how thought forms look: color, motion, hooks.

Alice Bailey said thought alone doesn’t create disease—but thought fused with belief weakens the etheric field.

I’ve experienced that firsthand.

The more I replayed my hurt, the more tangled my field became.
The more I told the story, the more “real” that version of myself became—until I realized I had built a vibrational echo of the event that was louder than my healing voice.

That’s when the real work began: burning the blueprint.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Your thoughts are seeds.
Your repetition is water.
Your emotions are sunlight.

What you grow depends on what you tend.

You are not just a thinker.
You are a builder.
And what you build, you can dismantle.

🌿 If you recognize yourself in this post and feel ready to clear what’s been lingering, I invite you to explore distant spiritual healing through Free Healing USA.

Distant healing is free. Spiritual guidance is available through booked “Talk to Me, Rev” sessions.

🔗 Visit Free Healing USA to learn more.

Need a spiritual cleansing, follow our blog.

A Spiritual Science Reflection by Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns — President & Founder, National Spiritual Science Center Historical Society

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June 5, 2025October 2, 2025

Thought Forms & Vibrations Today

When Thought Forms Linger

When someone focuses on you with intense hate, envy, or obsession—and repeats those thoughts over and over—they’re not just thinking. They’re building a thought form.

It’s not the idea alone that causes harm—it’s the charge behind it.
Uncharged thoughts—even negative ones—often dissolve on their own. But charged thoughts? They vibrate. And they linger.

Thought forms carry vibratory energy—sometimes dense, sometimes suffocating—and for the spiritually sensitive, they can be felt like a fog in the room or a weight on the chest. And yes, they can cling.

But not all thought forms are easily felt. Some are subtle, almost imperceptible. Others are sharp, hostile, or invasive—especially when fueled by jealousy or obsession. Their vibration may tangle in the aura, settle in the space, or go unnoticed until symptoms appear.

Sensitivity to these vibrations varies. What feels like a slap to one person might not even register to another. That’s why awareness is so important—not just spiritual sensitivity, but the wisdom to interpret what you’re sensing.

Over time, thought forms can evolve into what some traditions call elementals—energetic constructs sustained by repetition and emotion. These forms imprint into objects, linger in spaces, and attach to the human field.

For example, someone once held a book returned to them by a person holding unresolved animosity. The vibration around the object was still active—dense, bitter, malevolent. That’s the power of a charged thought.

In another instance, the energy in a workplace shifted dramatically when someone silently projected rejection or resentment. The energy was so intense it followed the recipient home—even their normally affectionate pet reacted with fear and aggression.

Why wasn’t the energy cleared? Because typical methods like smudging, visualizing, or aura raking aren’t always enough. Sometimes, it takes more: water, salt, herb, prayer—and strong intention—to fully cleanse the field.

Energetic visualization of thought forms and vibrations affecting the human aura and spiritual field

Where Classic Metaphysics Meets Lived Experience

In Thought-Forms (1901), Charles Leadbeater and Annie Besant described how thoughts produce visible forms in the astral body—shapes, colors, movements, and even hooks that latch onto people. They recorded thought forms that shot like arrows, clung like fog, or swirled with aggression.

That made sense to me. But what I experience is even more direct:
I don’t see shapes—I feel the weight. I call it vibrational density.

Some thought forms feel like a whisper in the air. Others feel like a wet blanket from head to toe. Some feel like a plastic bag pulled over my head—cutting off clarity, breath, and energy.

In Esoteric Healing, Alice Bailey offered another critical insight: thought alone does not create illness—and I agree. But here’s how I take that further:

When thought is fused with belief and obsession, it weakens the field. It doesn’t directly cause disease—but it opens the door.
It destabilizes the etheric body, making the system more vulnerable to deeper spiritual or physical breakdown.

A thought form isn’t just a thought.

It’s a construct—built through repetition, intent, and emotional force. Once fully formed, it feeds on energy and keeps returning to the source—or its target—until it’s cleared.

Honoring the Legacy of Living Spiritual Science

We’re not just studying theory.
We’re living the truth.

Thought forms and vibrations aren’t a thing of the past—they’re with us today. And it’s our responsibility to clear what clings, protect what’s sacred, and rise in alignment with divine law.

Need a spiritual cleansing, follow our blog.

A Spiritual Science Reflection by Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns — President & Founder, National Spiritual Science Center Historical Society

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May 23, 2025October 2, 2025

Living Spiritual Science – Part 2

Spiritual Senses and Discernment

Understanding the Spiritual and Physical Connection Spiritual Scientists recognize that human beings have five physical senses and equivalent spiritual senses. Not all spiritual senses are active at once; they emerge as needed—offering insight, guidance, and sometimes challenge, depending on the situation or spiritual need. What I share here is not something I learned from books—this is based solely on my own personal experience. My sense of touch is constantly active—I can feel vibrations, both near and far. This would fall under clairsentience, the ability to feel spiritual impressions.

I went many years without having a word for what I experienced. In my study of Alice Bailey’s Esoteric Healing, vibrations were studied, but I kept using the phrase “feeling energy,” which led people to label me as an empath. That label didn’t match my experience—I wasn’t feeling others’ emotions; I was picking up on vibrations and thought patterns. Over time, I had to reframe how I described my sensitivity, because the common understanding of “feeling energy” pointed to emotional empathy, not the tactile experience I was actually having. It has always been about the direct awareness of vibrations.

a spiritual woman feeling vibrations and surrounded by energy—symbolizing clairsentience and spiritual awareness. Unbeknownst to me, the first time I felt vibrations was during a phone conversation with an aunt in 1987 or 1988. That was a sign of my gift that day, despite the conversation. Vibrations come in a range of densities—from suffocating, tingling, gentle, to light and airy. I can feel the energy in an aura, objects, thoughts (anger, hate, etc), or even places—it’s not emotional empathy; it’s vibrational sensitivity.

My sense of smell activates when required. This is often referred to as clairsalience—spiritual smell. I may smell fragrances, smoke, or other scents that are not physically present but carry spiritual meaning or connection to someone who has passed. When necessary, I also hear or see spirit. Hearing spirit is known as clairaudience, and spiritual sight is referred to as clairvoyance—both are forms of receiving messages beyond the physical senses. But I prefer to keep certain senses, like sight and hearing, dormant unless they’re truly needed.

One sense I’ve yet to experience is taste—and honestly, I don’t think I would want that gift, especially when it first bursts forth. Taste, like smell, is a physical sense. Spiritually, it is known as clairgustance—the ability to perceive taste without a physical source. If clairgustance ever activates for someone, the experience might include tasting something comforting, like peach pie their grandmother used to make, or something unpleasant or down right gross. Each taste represents something Spirit is communicating, and the individual must learn the meaning of each flavor. It’s not vibration or energy—it’s direct symbolic communication. And for now, that’s not a door I feel called to open.

What Happens When Emotions Take the Driver’s Seat

In the next part of this series, we’ll explore how emotional turbulence can lead to the creation of thought forms, how those forms attach, and what it takes to release what isn’t yours. This includes the subtle (and not-so-subtle) emotional patterns that can turn into energetic residue—and what a Spiritual Scientist must know to stay clear, grounded, and in alignment with truth.

Honoring the legacy of Living Spiritual Science.

Need a spiritual cleansing, follow our blog.

A Spiritual Science Reflection by Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns — President & Founder, National Spiritual Science Center Historical Society

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May 12, 2025October 2, 2025

Living Spiritual Science

A Journey of Transformation

Introduction

Living Spiritual Science means fully integrating spiritual principles into every aspect of daily life. It’s not just a belief system or a set of practices with rituals; it is a way of being, grounded in wisdom, personal growth, and the pursuit of higher truths. For me, it’s a lifelong commitment to embodying spiritual knowledge through consistent practice and inner reflection.

A Way of Life

Spiritual Science has also shaped how I perceive the world, interact with others, and maintain my personal boundaries—both spiritually and physically—for my spiritual well-being. As a lifelong student of spiritual growth, I practice what I have been taught, whether through foundational studies, personal experiences, inner teachers, the teachings of others, or life’s many spiritual surprises. Spiritual Science is not something I study to become a spiritual leader; it is how I choose to live my life, grow, and consistently align with higher truths and practices.

Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns sharing insights on living a Spiritual Science lifestyle and personal growth. Practicing Spiritual Science requires balance, discipline, and consistency. It’s not about constantly seeking higher spiritual experiences but about maintaining awareness, care, and growth through every phase of life’s lessons. Whether life feels aligned or chaotic, staying grounded in spiritual principles helps navigate challenges and stay true to one’s path.

Final Thoughts

This is just the beginning of exploring living Spiritual Science. In Part 2, we will dive deeper into the practical aspects of daily integration—how to maintain balance, practice awareness, and stay spiritually grounded. Stay tuned for more insights into living a Spiritual Science lifestyle.

Honoring the legacy of Living Spiritual Science.

A Spiritual Science Reflection by Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns — President & Founder, National Spiritual Science Center Historical Society

Need a spiritual cleansing, follow our blog.

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