Looking for the perfect memorial? Plant a tree in someone's honor

If you're looking for ways to express your sympathies to someone who lost a loved one, if you're not giving to a charity or dog or cat rescue, you can have a tree planted in their memory.  Just go to the website: http://www.alivingtribute.org/. Or https://www.facebook.com/alivingtribute

  A tree planted in someone's memory is a living tribute that benefits present and future generations, and is perhaps the most fitting memorial gift of all. Your memorial trees planted in National Forests will be honorable monuments and active participants in nature's plan for decades to come.

   Through this website, people may make contributions to reforestation efforts and receive a personalized commemorative card - in memory or honor of a friend or loved one, in celebration of a life event, or simply to give the green gift of trees.

    If the tree planting is a gift, we will stamp and mail the card (with your return address on the envelope) to the recipient for you. Now you can send a greeting card that makes the world greener. Every card we print is sustainably sourced, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified, REC-certified & acid-free.

   With each order, tree planting organizations under the supervision of the Forest Service commit to plant new trees in designated National Forests and Parks that are in dire need of restoration (see list of projects and sites below).

      Every 1,000 tree seedlings that we plant will restore four acres of forest and create critical wildlife habitat. The Green Benefits of Planting Trees in Memory

   To plant a tree or a memorial grove in someone's name, simply click here and choose your gift level.

Rare show in Maryland: The Beantown Medium on Aug. 5

See an AMAZING medium for one show only in a rare Maryland appearance! 
My friend Ruthie Larkin, the Beantown Medium on Aug. 5 at the

Harry L Cooper VFW Post 160  

Veterans Organization

Address: 2597 Dorsey Rd, Glen Burnie, MD 21061

The event is hosted through Inspired Ghost Tracking. 
Tickets (Special price) $20  at the Door.
Contact Margaret at inspiredghst@aol.com for reservations. 
I will be there, too!

Ruthie was featured in my books "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" when we both encountered the ghost of John Wilkes Booth, and had an entire chapter of messages she received from her dog "Boston" in my book "Pets and the Afterlife." 

SPACE IS LIMITED.... 

Rob and Ruthie Larkin, the Beantown Medium

Rob Gutro's next talk: Ghosts of the Belmont Mansion 5/6/16

Come to my next talk -on May 6, Fri. 7-9 p.m. EDT 
It's about the Ghosts of the Belmont Mansion!
Rob Gutro and Troy Cline talk about their and IGT's experiences with the ghosts who haunt the historic Belmont Manor and historic park of Elkridge, Maryland. 
WHERE: At the Inspired Ghost Tracking Meeting at the Harry L Cooper VFW Post 160, 2597 Dorsey Road Glen Burnie, MD 21061 /

IGT medium Troy (left) Ronda (center) and medium Rob Gutro (right) at Belmont cemetery

NO COST, BUT EMAIL TO RESERVE A SPOT: Margaret at
inspiredghst@aol.com










For Inspired Ghost Tracking's Facebook page about the Belmont Manor Hauntings, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/
inspiredghosttrackingbelmontghosts/ 

A Cat Confirms the Spirit People Around Him

When our pets have passed, they can describe people who are with them on the other side. 
Recently I gave a reading to a woman named Angela whose cat Diddy passed in 2007. She asked who Diddy is with on the other side. 

In addition to his being with Angela's grandmother, I wrote to Angela There is a female on the other side who passed in her 30s or 40s that is will Diddy. It looks like a friend of yours. If you do not now know this person, you likely knew her from the past (school).

Angela confirmed that the woman in her 30s who passed was her cousin Carmela who died of breast cancer at age 35.  It is amazing that Diddy was able to describe  your cousin by age and sex on the other side. Cats and dogs can only give us words that they know- and if they heard someone say them. - They do learn a lot from us.

In addition our pets will show us whom they are most attached to. I wrote Angela: Diddy showed me that he followed you around (not your husband).Again, Angela confirmed what Diddy shared: "He was always around me 24 hour 7 and I he sleeps on my side of the bed.    He follows my around in the house and I loved his company."

Lessons Learned, Ghosts and Spirits

For Rob Gutro's books: "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead," "Pets and the Afterlife" and the new book "Pets and the Afterlife 2" -  visit Amazon.com   (or click this link) 

Pets and the Afterlife 2, Pets and the Afterlife

A Q&A on Feeling a Presence from "Urns, Ashes and Spirit Visitors "

One of the most popular blogs I've written was about urns, ashes and spirit visitors. I've received a lot of questions
about the topic. Here's one of the questions I received about feeling a presence in a home with urns. 


QUESTION:

What does it mean to have three urns in your home and feel there presence ?

ANSWER: Ashes in urns have a residual energy of the people they once were and when someone who loved them comes near them- it gives them energy to come back and visit! 
When you sense someone around it means that your love for them helped them come visit. They just want to acknowledge the love you share continues to bind you all together. Spirits also help guide and influence us to make decisions that will benefit us. So their love shines from the other side.

FOR the blog post on : http://ghostsandspiritsinsights.blogspot.com/2012/01/urns-ashes-and-spirit-visitors.html

For answers on all things about ghosts and spirits, check out "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" by Rob Gutro. You'll find most answers to all things in the book. I wrote it as a reference book and included personal stories and encounters to prove the answers. 

 Rob Gutro's latest book "Ghosts of England on a Medium's Vacation"  - is available in paperback and E-book on Amazon.com. 

A Private Ghost Investigation at Baltimore's Carroll Mansion

On Saturday April 2 we took our friends Jen and Carty on a kind of paranormal investigation of the historic Carroll Mansion in Baltimore. 

AT THE MANSION - We learned a lot about the mansion from a young man,who is the docent there, but because he was so knowledgeable and talked the entire time it was difficult to tune into any entities there.

ABOUT THE MANSION:

Room that housed the tavern

  The house was built around 1811, at the corner of what is now known as Lombard and Front Streets, which at the time was a very wealthy part of Baltimore. In 1818 it was purchased for the sum of $20,000 by Richard Caton, the husband of Mary, youngest daughter of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  For the last twelve years of his life, Charles Carroll spent his winters in the house, often receiving distinguished visitors there.  It was in this house that he died on the third floor in his bedroom, which was the last part of the tour. 

MANY CHANGES:    The mansion went through a lot of changes after his death. The Catons lived there until 1846. Then It remained empty until 1855 when the Sisters of Mercy purchased it and housed poor immigrants.Immigrants turned the first floor into a saloon and the second floor into apartments for German and Russian Jews, until 1868 when the Sisters sold the mansion for the paltry sum of $1,000.

Dining room where male ghost stood

   Over the next forty years, Carroll Mansion served as a saloon, furniture store, and in 1904 news articles report that the mansion was being used as a sweatshop to produce clothing. In 1914 the mansion was deeded to the City of Baltimore and in 1918 it became Baltimore's first vocational school.

Jen and Carty on the Carroll Balcony

GHOSTS 

First Floor- In the part of the mansion was made into a tavern Tom sensed a presence. I also got a headache so we confirmed someone was in there, but it was likely a residual ghost- which means it was a "thumbprint" of energy left behind from someone who experienced a happy time (which would make sense in a saloon) or a traumatic event there.

SECOND FLOOR- At the doorway of the dining room, Rob sensed another residual haunt - a male figure dressed in 1800s garb that kept sweeping his hand into the room inviting people to dine. (I didn't know it was the dining room until we went in it and were told it was a dining room.)

Hallway where woman's ghost stood

 There was also another residual ghost, a woman, who walked the second floor hallway just at the top of the stairs. She was not an intelligent haunt- one that could answer questions - just a replay over and over of a woman that lived there. 

Carroll Mansion

THIRD FLOOR - In the Carroll Bedroom Tom sensed another residual presence where Charles Carroll passed away. In one of the other rooms, in what turned out to be a tenement apartment in the 1850s and 1860s for immigrants, I (Rob) suddenly experienced burning in my throat, and found the first intelligent haunt/interactive ghost. It was that of a little boy who was an immigrant that died of a severe fever in that room. He was still there. - Because the docent ushered us out of the room quickly and kept talking about the history, it was impossible to get more information from the boy. I will have to try and cross him over at some point.

A Look at Rob Gutro's 4 Books on Amazon.com

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE:  http://www.amazon.com/Rob-Gutro/e/B003UNTASW

BOOKS: Pets and the Afterlife 2; Pets and the Afterlife; Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead; & Ghosts and Spirits 

Available in paperback and E-book, on Amazon.com

A Q&A on Cremation from "Urns, Ashes and Spirit Visitors "

One of the most popular blogs I've written was about urns, ashes and spirit visitors. I've received a lot of questions about the topic. Here's one of the questions I received about what cremation does to a soul."

QUESTION: Anonymous

I am nervous of allowing my parents to be cremated when that time comes. I was told that cremation causes the soul to burn for eternity.

ANSWER:    Dear Anonymous- Cremation does not cause a soul to "burn for all eternity." Once the physical body is dead, the spirit transitions to energy and either chooses to cross over into the light (heaven/valhalla/paradise/energies of the cosmos) or remain an Earth-bound ghost. 

The idea of "burning for eternity" was created by man and is unfounded and ridiculous. Cremation is no different from burying people. After all, would people who die in explosions and fires "burn for all eternity" because their bodies were burned to ash? That's non-sensical. It's just a superstition made up by someone or some religion to scare people into getting them to do something other than cremation. 

In fact, since there is less and less space for physical burials, cremation is a much better alternative. We've cremated our pets who passed and also plan on being cremated. The physical body was just a shell that housed the spirit. It's perfectly fine for your parents to be cremated, better for the environment, for them (think about their physical bodies decaying in the ground, and either way their spirits will move on.

FOR the blog post on : http://ghostsandspiritsinsights.blogspot.com/2012/01/urns-ashes-and-spirit-visitors.html

For answers on all things about ghosts and spirits, check out "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" by Rob Gutro. You'll find most answers to all things in the book. I wrote it as a reference book and included personal stories and encounters to prove the answers.
Available on Amazon.com in Paperback and Kindle

Q&A: Can Animals Other than Dogs and Cats communicate from spirit?

Credit; Theodysseyonline.com

Recently I received an email from Lea, who asked if all animals can communicate from spirit.

QUESTION: 
Do animals other than dogs, cats and horses can give messages from spirit? I grew up on a farm and was surrounded by animals I loved.

ANSWER:
I only addressed cats, dogs and horses in my books "Pets and the Afterlife" and "Pets and the Afterlife 2" because those are primarily the animals that are around people as pets. That doesn't mean that other animals couldn't communicate from the afterlife. If you live with cows, bulls, pigs, chickens, any animal, they get to know your words and behavior, and they can communicate with you from the other side! It's all about animals being able to understand us and us understanding them. So ALL animals have the ability to communicate with us from the other side- I just don't have experience with cows, pigs, etc.
 

Credit: Kids ong toys collector

Because I have not had experiences with other domesticated animals doesn't mean that they can't communicate with people from the other side- They certainly can! I just used dogs, cats and horses as a reference because that's what I have been familiar with. My friend medium Barb Mallon has had gerbils and rabbits give her messages- because they were family pets, so they know our language and emotions. So please don't worry! Every animal has the same ability!


Pets and the Afterlife 2 and Pets and the Afterlife by Rob Gutro are available on Amazon.com in Kindle and paperback. 

 

What to say to people experiencing grief

Sometimes it's really difficult to know what to say to people who are grieving the loss of a loved one whether it be
a person or pet who passed.  Recently the Huffington Post published the following article to help and I'm posting it here to help.


Six Helpful Things You Can Do/Say if Someone You Know Is Grieving:

1. Ask, "How are you doing?" Then listen patiently to the answer without changing the subject or terminating the conversation. Create a safe space for them to talk about their experience if they would like to. You might feel honored that they trusted you enough to give an honest answer if it's something other than "Fine."
2. Say that you just found out about their loss. Rather than the obligatory "I'm sorry for your loss," or "I'm sorry that your marriage didn't work out for you," try this instead: "I can't imagine what this is like for you," followed by "How are you doing?" Everyone's grief is different. Even if you've experienced loss, you don't know how they feel. Let them tell you about it in their own words.
3. Stay away from offering clichés like, "You were lucky to have the time you had," "She's with the angels now," etc. It doesn't help to have you try to rationalize away someone's grief. If you're not sure what to say, go back to tip #2 above.
4. "I'd like to help. Would you like me to __________?" Insert specific tasks that you are willing to do that you think might be helpful. You could suggest something like "mow the lawn, walk the dog, watch the baby, sit with you, help you clear the garage," etc. Then show up and do it if the answer is "Yes." Try to avoid the offhand, "Let me know if there is anything I can do for you." No one believes you really mean it and that puts the burden on the griever to think of something for you to do. They don't have the energy for that.
5. When someone cries in front of you, all you have to do is stay put and say something in a soothing voice like, "It's OK....let that out....I'm here for you." Comforting them with a touch on the arm or a hug is great too. Just do your best to stay present and don't try to "fix" it. Don't hand them a tissue unless they ask for it. The tears will come to a natural completion of their own accord.
6. Do your best to keep your relationship intact. Avoiding a grieving person because it's uncomfortable for you to be with them is hard for them. You can imagine the feelings of isolation they would be feeling if everyone in their lives reacted this way. It's OK to say the name of the person that is gone. It's OK to ask what happened. It's OK to talk about the strangeness of it all. It's even OK to cry in front of them or with them. Your silence and avoidance is what's really painful.

People experiencing grief crave feeling heard, seen, understood. They need to know that they aren't alone. Know that your love and empathy will go a long way towards supporting a grieving person in their deepest time of need. Know that they would do it for you, too.
SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carrie-doubts/6-tips-for-supporting-people-in-grief_b_9350448.html?
This post is part of Common Grief, a Healthy Living editorial initiative. Grief is an inevitable part of life, but that doesn't make navigating it any easier. The deep sorrow that accompanies the death of a loved one, the end of a marriage or even moving far away from home, is real. But while grief is universal, we all grieve differently. So we started Common Grief to help learn from each other. Let's talk about living with loss. If you have a story you'd like to share, email us at strongertogether@huffingtonpost.com.