Hi all.
I recently had a retrieval experience which came suddenly and unexpected. Even more unexpected, however, was my reaction to it.
Last Tuesday, I had oral surgery for an impacted wisdom tooth. Everything went smoothly, but I felt a little druggy from the novocaine and the codeine. So when I turned off the lights that night to go to bed, the last thing I was thinking of was doing a retrieval.
As I closed my eyes and burrowed under the covers, a street scene in a large city suddenly came into view. It was dark, either because it was night or because my vision was 100% in this state. But I could clearly see people walking, traffic, buildings and a street lamp.
I asked why I was seeing this and immediately sensed that I was to do a retrieval.
Huh? I replied. Now, I'm pretty much a newbie in this work and have only done one retrieval that I remember. I'm nervous about it, particularly making it up, and actually feel more confident about doing energy work with someone in this way. Still I'm very attracted to Bruce's work and have been very interested in trying it, but felt that I had to study with him first before I tried to go solo.
So imagine my surprise when I not only felt doubt come up but a little annoyance as well.
Why now? I asked. I'm certainly not up to this.
Yet I could still clearly see the street scene and felt myself moving or floating over the street. It was quite clear that I wasn't making this up, although part of me wondered if this might be an after effect of the codeine. Plus, the imperative to do a retrieval even though I was tired and wanted to go to sleep was strong.
I approached an intersection, a black stretch limousine pulled up and a passenger door opened. The next thing I knew I was inside the limo. There was at least one helper inside, possible two. I couldn't see them but I felt their presence.
Yes, you're going to do a retrieval, they said. I got other information but was still skeptical doing this so I blocked a lot of it. Still doubting, I decided to just "go along for the ride".
Instantly I was inside a restaurant. It was actually quite fancy. I sat down at a large round table with a high cushion back. I didn't see anybody else in the restaurant but could hear the kind of noises you'd expect in an elegant, upscale restaurant. By now, I could see things more clearly, including the beige of the cushion back and the bright white table cloth.
Then I sensed someone standing at the table. I knew it was my waiter and the person who I was supposed to retrieve. I couldn't see him at all but could hear him. I asked his name and he told me it was Luis. I "knew" he was Mexican or South American. We began to talk and he almost immediately plunged into his story. The impression I got was that he knew he was dead but didn't know where else to go. So he'd created the only place he felt comfortable in -- the nice restaurant where he'd worked as a waiter.
I'm still not sure what city this was, but it "felt" like San Francisco (a city I've never visited).
Luis was murdered during a robbery. I actually got an image of the long knife he was stabbed with. I got a lot of quick images while he talked.
I was still skeptical about what was going on, thinking I had to either be making it up or semi-hallucinating from the codeine. In fact, as Luis talked to me on one channel in my mind, on another I was communicating with the helpers and trying to back out of the retrieval. I even got a little surly with them! Looking back now a week later, I'm still surprised by my attitude.
At one point I tried to check out. The restaurant scene began to fade out. But the unseen helpers kept insisting I stick with it. I finally gave in. The restaurant rematerialized. Now I could clearly see Luis. He seemed to be in his twenties or early thirties. At the time he was telling me a lot about himself. His last name for instance, which I didn't remember once the retrieval was finished. Because of my skeptical attitude and mental arguments with the helpers, I blocked a lot of the information he gave me. Luis was eager to talk to somebody because he'd been stuck for awhile.
I felt another unseen presence at the table. This presence was radiating an eagerness toward me to get on with it. So I asked Luis if he'd like to go somewhere else. I explained that I had a friend who could help him and set him up in a palce with other people, possibly even friends and family.
Now, I remember seeing this fairly standard suggestion in Bruce's books and reading some of the retrievals on this website. In fact, this was always the part about the retrieval that I thought I'd flub up. So I was a little amused that I even remembered to say it.
Luis nodded eagerly. Next to me at the table a pretty young Mexican woman with long black hair and tan/brown skin materialized. She jumped up, ran to Luis and embraced him. They began speaking rapidly in Spanish, hugging, kissing and crying. Then they both disappeared.
A little shocked that it was over so soon, I asked the invisible helpers if that was his girlfriend. They replied no, his sister.
Deciding it was over I was like, okay I can leave and go to sleep now. But they wanted me to stick around a little longer. The restaurant scene dematerialized and I floated in a gray/black space. I don't remember what happened after that. I must have drifted into sleep. But somehow I suspect they got me to do another retrieval by putting me into a superconscious state.
The next morning I woke up and thought about this experience. My attitude felt so odd to me and out of character. I was very surprised by my behavior, particularly toward the helpers. I've worked with spiritual beings before and NEVER had an attitude like that. Then it occurred to me that visually it was very easy to see. There was no way I could make something like that up. I was surprised by several of the things that occurred -- the opening street scene, the limo, the restaurant, Luis' sister appearing.
So I think the helpers arranged for it to happen when it did because they knew it would be harder for me to write it off as my imagination. Even so, I still fought it all the way. Part of me obviously hasn't fully accepted the afterlife and the ability to do retrievals even though I've had a handful of OOBEs and lots of visions (for lack of a better term). So I think this part tried to assert itself because it was being challenged by the experience, maybe to avoid a belief crash.
Has anyone else ever had this type of reaction before during a retrieval of irritation?
Jeff