Ghost Writers by David Shaw was a surprise in that the basis of the book are 10 short stories channeled through writers including Tennessee Williams, Oscar Wilde, Beatrix Potter, Franz Kafka and Leo Tolstoy!
All stories were delightful reads and inspiring examples of overcoming materialism, achieving forgiveness, fearlessness and self-belief, and the importance of education, patience, credence, tolerance, clarity and acceptance.
Working with his own spirit guides, Shaw says he didn’t know who he would be channeling and, in fact, keeps the authors’ names secret until the end of the book. But his spirit team invited ten of the greatest writers of all time to share their stories through his mediumship.
Shaw introduces 10 spiritual subjects that are then explored in the ten inspirational short stories. He sees his role to simply receive knowledge from the spirit world and pass this information on to the reader to help in your own life journey. From the first story, “How much is that doggy in the window?” I was hooked, and expect most other readers will be too. “Don’t fear the reaper” and “The Time Machine” were other stories that I found especially beautiful and profound.
While I meditate daily, I’ve never tried to actively channel information from those now in the spirit world. Shaw gives us a view on how he achieves this, leaving us with a lot to think about, and a lot of information that can inspire us to live better lives. And he leaves me wondering – how many of our own creative efforts are a result of thoughts communicated from another creative mind, whether through channeling, inspiration or in our dreams?
Here, David Shaw answers my questions:
BECCA: Can you describe how you became a medium?
DAVID: I actually fought against becoming a medium for many years. I spent many sleepless nights trying in vain to stop spirit people from entering my bedroom and terrifying the life out of me, until eventually I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I then had two choices – keep fighting against it until it kills me, or embrace it. Thankfully, I chose the latter and began my lifelong apprenticeship.
BECCA: Who is included in your “big team” of spiritual guides?
DAVID: The “big team” of spiritual guides is a collective consciousness of highly educated minds that dwells within the highest realms of the spiritual Universe. I first became aware of this consciousness when I was involved with séances and deep trance mediumship. Mr Chung and SiBir are two guides who dwell within this collective, as are some great mediums from our past, like Gordon Higginson and Maurice Barbanell. The “big team” predominantly work with deep trance and physical mediums.
BECCA: Ten different spirit authors wrote these beautiful fictional stories – did you write the factual words or were they also channeled?
DAVID: The knowledge contained within the factual words was dictated to me through a very light trance state – by Mr Chung. Afterwards, I was able to format the information into my own writing style, occasionally adding humor and personal experiences. It’s a writing method that I’ve adapted through my earlier books and it is really only achievable during the night when there are no distractions around. Many readers have been confused by who was writing what in this book and I must admit I was also confused at times. The “big team” always insist that it’s the content that’s important and not the author.
BECCA: Can you describe how you get into the meditative state needed to channel?
DAVID: I always attempt to clear my mind as much as possible before asking my guides to come forward. I will receive a buzzing sound in my right ear (seriously!!!) to signify that they are ready to work with me (this was developed through many years of trance and physical mediumship). I will subsequently send an adrenaline rush throughout my entire body and the spirit energy then joins with me. I will hear the guides talk to me and I can commence writing. When I wrote my previous book, “New Mediumship,” there were instances when a spirit author took me into a deeper state of trance and actually used my body to type words into the keyboard. Incredibly, after coming out of this trance state, I then had to rearrange the words as some of them were mixed up. At the end of the book, I was informed of the identity of the author. Not surprisingly, when I checked on Google, I found that he was dyslexic. You may have heard of him – Edgar Allan Poe.
BECCA: You recommend mediation to achieve clarity… what tips do you offer to those who find meditation difficult?
DAVID: Meditation is something that I have always personally found difficult to master. Entering a trance state has always been fairly easy for me but that involves direct communication with the spirit world and can be very tiring. Meditation on the other hand involves clearing you mind as much as possible and then just sitting in your own silence. You should not attempt to contact the spirit world during a meditation. Meditation should be used to exercise self-control over your mind. If you cannot achieve this by yourself then I would recommend joining a group of like-minded people where you can help each other to relax accordingly.
BECCA: Even spiritual people seem to fear death – how can one overcome this fear?
DAVID: That’s a really good question and one that I don’t really have a distinctive answer to. Everyone is different and every soul’s journey contains many unique fears – death being just one of them. As for myself, I don’t fear my own physical death, but I do worry about leaving my family behind once I’m gone. This is why mediumship is important to many people as knowing that life carries on can help a person to endure bereavement and perhaps realize that physical death is only a stepping stone to the next chapter in the book of life.
BECCA: You finish your book recommending “acceptance.” How does one achieve that in the face of life’s difficulties?
DAVID: I think it beggars belief that anyone who experiences their child being murdered or dying through illness should then have to accept that what has happened is perfectly natural. But, that is what they have apparently agreed to do before commencing this physical life. It is, by far, the most difficult and most important task that must be accomplished before continuing with our spiritual life journey. Sometimes we have to accept that living a successful life doesn’t necessarily mean living a completely happy one.
BECCA: What do you hope readers take away from your book?
DAVID: My co-writers in the spirit world only wish that any reader takes knowledge from this book. They cannot directly interfere with anyone’s life and neither can I. This book should only be used for inspiration where appropriate. I have always said that any inspirational book should appeal to someone living a life of extreme poverty as much as it does to someone living a life of material luxury.
BECCA: Any advice for other independent authors who want to share inspiration?
DAVID: I would advise to write about your own personal experiences of life. Nothing is more inspirational than knowing that someone else has been where you are now – and came out the other end smiling. Oh and maybe get Edgar Allan Poe to write your book – he is amazing!
David Shaw is also the author of An Average Joe’s Search for the Meaning of Life, and New Mediumship. You can learn more about his work at www.spiritcounsellor.com and www.davidshaw.me.uk.
Namaste!
Becca Chopra, author of The Chakra Diaries, Chakra Secrets, Balance Your Chakras-Balance Your Life and The Chakra Energy Diet
