(PHOTO: Leah L. Jones/The GazetteBowie author Rob Gutro, photographed at his home Feb. 11, wrote Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium. It was published in December.)
Bowie author details contact with afterlife in ‘Ghosts and Spirits'
by Dennis Carter | Special to The Gazette
Rob Gutro says he can't go anywhere without chatting with a ghost or spirit.
Gutro, a Bowie resident and author of "Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium," said he even had contact with the afterlife during a cruise in the Eastern Caribbean Sea this month. After a spirit identified himself as "John" three times, Gutro approached the woman "John" was trying to communicate with.
The woman said she had an Uncle John, and Gutro said she thanked him for approaching her.
Gutro said that this happens a lot since he encountered his first spirit — his deceased grandfather — at 14. In 2005, Gutro began detailing his dozens of otherworldly encounters, and adds analysis and the crucial differences between spirits and ghosts in his book, which was released Dec. 30. Gutro, deputy news chief at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt and a former radio weatherman, said ghosts have not yet crossed over into the afterlife because they might have "some unfinished business" or simply don't understand what happened to them.
"Sometimes they're not aware that they're dead yet," said Gutro, 47. "When people get killed suddenly — like in car accidents, for example — it takes a while to process that you're actually dead."
In contrast, spirits have accepted their new form and entered the white light seen by many who live through near-death experiences, he said.
"They've passed on to the next stage," said Gutro, adding that there's a surefire way to know if your loved one has become a spirit: "You can dream about them."
Ghosts, Gutro writes in his book, won't play a starring role in your dreams.
Gutro said he strived to support his experiences with scientific analysis. This often helps skeptics embrace the idea of an afterlife and separates Gutro's findings from unproven superstitions passed down in folklore.
"Energy can only be transformed; it can't be destroyed," he said. "Science is much more effective in convincing people that it's a reality. ... If you have a theory and you're a good scientist, you try to prove it."
And it's not just people who contact Gutro from the great beyond. After his dog, Buzz Wyatt, died, Gutro said the animal made 13 attempts to contact his owner.
"One of the times was the sound of claws on the hardwood floor," Gutro said with a chuckle as he rattled off a string of Buzz Wyatt memories.
Gutro said his dedication to honing his sensitivity to the afterlife is a very different path than the one taken by many mediums. Seeing a ghost or spirit for the first time sometimes frightens mediums so much that they avoid further contact with the deceased.
He admits seeing his grandfather materialize before his eyes 34 years ago made him flee the house, but Gutro is determined to maintain contact with those who have passed on, both family members and strangers reaching out to their spouse, child or friend.
"This is a gift," Gutro said, "and not something to fear."
"Ghosts and Spirits" is available on Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com and Virtualbookworm.com.
Follow Gutro's blog at http://ghostsandspiritsinsights.blogspot.com/.
ARTICLE LINK: http://www.gazette.net/stories/02252010/entepri152057_32547.php
