From Actor to Healer: Alan Rickman's New Life as a Spirit Guide, Book 2

Chapter 13 - Paranormal Investigation

One day in the summer of 2017, a recent Reiki Master graduate named Diane asked if she could sit in on the next Reiki Master class at Spiritus to refresh her memory. This wasn't unusual, as a few students have asked to do this. Diane and her husband were regular Reiki circle attendees, and Diane had volunteered a lot of time to help Wayne set up a small gift shop at the front of the center.

Before the start of class on Saturday, Alan appeared in my mind's eye and asked if I would spend a few minutes with Diane during a break and tell her about him. He disappeared without saying why. Since Diane was a volunteer at the center, I figured he trusted her and had a good reason for wanting me to talk to her. She knew nothing about my interactions with Alan, so I wondered what her reaction would be.

I approached Diane early that morning and said my spirit guide wanted me to tell her about him. She agreed to have lunch with me, although she was as puzzled as I was. After the other students left for lunch, Diane and I sat in a corner of the classroom together. Then I gave her a quick summary of how I had met Alan. Diane was taken aback.

We talked more about it throughout the weekend, but neither of us got clarity on Alan's intentions until class was over and we walked out the door together. While we were chitchatting in the parking lot, Diane mentioned that she used to do paranormal investigations with a local group. Then the proverbial lightbulb lit up over our heads at the same time: Alan had connected us because he wanted us to do a paranormal investigation with him! It would be yet another experiment to see what he could do across dimensions.

I hadn't known that Diane used to be a paranormal investigator. Alan obviously knew. Years ago, I used to watch a paranormal investigation team on the TV show Ghost Hunters. Because of this, I understand the gist of what paranormal investigators do. If a property has suspected paranormal activity, a paranormal investigation team is invited to set up audio and video equipment to document or debunk the claims. They attempt to capture physical evidence—from a disembodied voice to a physical apparition—that can't easily be explained as a natural phenomenon. In the absence of controlled scientific laboratory experiments, this may be as close as modern technology can come to demonstrating life after death.

I had scheduled the Monday after class off from work, so I went to Diane's house that afternoon to do a session. I was excited to see what evidence we would capture, if any, but I had no expectations.

First, Diane showed me her equipment and explained how paranormal investigations are typically done. Then she set up a digital movie camera in her living room to film the session. She put a digital recorder on a side table and invited Alan to speak into it at any time.

Next, Diane showed me a spirit box, an electronic device that generates white noise using radio frequency sweeps. She explained that spirits can allegedly speak across the bands as the device quickly scans through either AM or FM frequencies. She called the box a "spirit cellular phone" and told me about an incredible conversation she'd had with her deceased father using the device.

I asked Alan many questions. He responded, but the spirit box caught only short blips that were unintelligible. However, he consistently repeated a simple one-word answer that was clearly audible when I asked several times to tell us something about his dimension: "Eight."

Diane said this is an infinity number. Alan's response made sense because the numeral eight is the infinity symbol turned ninety degrees. Alan was using the word infinity to describe the higher dimension.

Upon later review of the video and audio files, I was disappointed we hadn't captured any apparitions or voice recordings of Alan. That kind of evidence was rare, even for professional investigators.

However, we did capture something on video that was extremely compelling: Alan could answer yes-no questions by using two Mini Maglite flashlights. Diane had set the flashlights a few feet apart on the floor and asked him to select one flashlight for yes and one for no. It took Alan a while to get the hang of it, but he gave clear answers as long as I asked simple, straightforward questions. Watching the flashlights turn on and off in response to my questions was astounding.

We documented about an hour and a half of Alan's flashlight use on video. He was extremely cooperative and patient. I could feel how much he genuinely wanted to help people understand our true nature as spiritual beings and overcome any fear of death.

I didn't know that common household devices like flashlights could be used to talk to spirit guides and departed loved ones. I'd only seen them used on television to investigate spirit activity in allegedly haunted places.

Now I understood that anyone could use simple, inexpensive devices to communicate with those in spirit. As a result, there's no need to fear death or mourn the loss of a loved one. We are eternal beings, and we're never apart from those dear to us. Death need not be a sad event; instead, it can be a celebration of our loved one's new life.

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When I saw Diane at the Reiki circle the following week, she told me about something that had happened a few days earlier. While shopping one afternoon, she'd seen a man at a store who could have been Alan's doppelgänger. This was physical confirmation from Alan that he'd been with us the day of the paranormal investigation. It reminded me of my trip to Sedona, which I discussed in Book One, where I'd seen a waiter who resembled Alan the day I'd taken Wayne into my confidence.

A few nights after the Reiki circle, I had a vivid dream. I was walking down a city street with a woman who was documenting my relationship with Alan. A backdrop of busyness surrounded us, mirroring how busy my physical life was. The woman was a journalist, and a camera operator was videotaping our interview. The journalist was sensitive like me, so we both could see and hear Alan.

Alan strolled along beside us casually, grinning widely as if he didn't have a care in the world. He looked like an older man in his sixties, the way he usually appeared to me. His eyes sparkled as he enjoyed the attention we were giving him. He had dressed up for the occasion in smart black slacks and a black sport coat.

When I watched the recording of the interview afterward, I felt Alan's presence in the room. He was watching the footage beside me. Unfortunately, the camera hadn't been able to capture Alan. Only the journalist and I were visible. I was disappointed. Then Alan projected his feelings at me: He was as disappointed as I was.

I explained in Book One that Alan has a way with dreams. After the paranormal investigation with Diane, he used a dream to share his feelings. He was beaming in the dream because he'd been happy to participate in the experiment. However, he also was sad that we couldn't videotape him. It felt as if he were saying he'd worn a nice suit for us and was disappointed we couldn't see it. Alan has a tremendous sense of humor.

I wanted to do another session with Diane and focus strictly on yes-no questions about the afterlife that Alan could answer with flashlights. When I asked her, she agreed.