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    An alternative way to explore and explain the mysteries of our world. "Published since 1985, online since 2001."

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Classic Mysteries—Alternate Perceptions Magazine, July 2022



A Spirit Encounter of Forgiveness

by: Mike Sears


June has several amazing Anniversaries when it comes to the paranormal in my life. This happened in the year 2012. This will be the 10 year Anniversary of the event. I normally share during Easter, but since it’s the 10 year anniversary this month, I reshare it.

This experience happened June of 2012; a spirit encounter of Forgiveness. I was awoken around 6 a.m. in the morning feeling watched. I see a shadow through my bedroom window blinds. There was someone standing on the front porch of my house. I got out of bed, got dressed fast and went to the front door to see who would be on my porch so early in the morning. I opened the door, looked to my left and saw this person standing there by my bedroom window. The person had their back towards me and was wearing a khaki trench coat; their long black hair draped down the back of it. It was a woman. She was crying. I asked, " Are you ok? " The person turned around and it was my Grandmother. My father’s mom (growing up she always wore her London Fog trench coat a lot). She wore it everywhere. It didn’t matter what time of year.

She stood there with tears running down her face as she spoke. She asked me for forgiveness. She apologized for the way she had treated me when my father passed away. When my father passed back in 1994, she said there was no longer a reason to stay in touch with the family; this was heart breaking to me and the rest of the family. She had lived a sad and lonely life due to this. I told her due to her hard life, I forgave her. She reached out with her arms to me and began to give me a big strong hug. I could feel her jacket and frail body and her strong embrace hugging me tight. I felt warmth and the most amazing feeling of love come over me. Then there was a flash of white light and I could no longer see her due to the extreme brightness glow coming from her. I had to close my eyes due to the brightness being so intense. I started to feel her embrace weaken, the feeling of love leave me and her embrace letting me go. Then she was gone. I was in shock as I stood there on my porch with my arms out reached and no longer holding her in my arms. I walk back into my house speechless and went back to my bed. This awakens my wife. She had asked if I was okay. I told her, “I’m not sure,” and explained to her what had just happened. She offered to get up and make breakfast, so we could talk more about this event. I got up out of the bed and suddenly felt nauseated. The room was spinning. I fell hard hitting my nightstand and wall, collapsing onto the floor. I yell out to my wife to quickly get the trash can as I began to throw up. I felt lightheaded for two days. I was drinking Gatorade and juice to get re-hydrated. I talked to some of my medium friends about the event and they said my body was reacting from the energy I had encountered from the spirit of my grandmother.

It was an amazing experience I will never forget. Hopefully my grandmother is at peace and she was able to cross over. She had been dead for almost 7 years when she appeared at my door step. My Grandmother was Native American Indian, Iroquois. She lived in Upstate New York up by the St Lawrence River when she passed. I lived in Tennessee when this encounter happened. Over the years remembering this event, I realized the month of June was also the same month my dad had his amazing Near-death experience.

[An interview with Mike about his father’s NDE was posted in the November 2014 issue of this magazine. Here’s the link:



DIRECTOR/Lead Investigator

Mike Sears

Mike has had experiences of the paranormal most of his life. Starting at a very young age of 5 when he saw his first spirit/ghost of a little girl appearing in his bedroom when he lived in Upstate New York. Mike has had other occurrences through his life that happened but nothing like the two he experienced in 1994 in Melbourne, Florida. This event became a life changing for Mike and put him in the direction to seek out answers about the Afterlife.

From these experiences it fueled his passion to learn more about the paranormal field. In 2006 Mike joined a Paranormal Investigating Team in Middle Tennessee with his wife Monique. During that time, he learned the various ways of investigating and to be able to help others understand what they might be experiencing. Mike has been Investigating the Paranormal since 2006 and has worked with various paranormal teams in the Middle Tennessee area. After working with the teams and learning various techniques investigating the Paranormal, Mike started his own team in the spring of 2009 known as Volunteer State Paranormal Research.

During the years of his paranormal investigating Mike has investigated throughout the state of Tennessee, Kentucky and parts of Alabama. Some well-known haunted places like Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky, Sloss Furnace, in Birmingham, Alabama, Octagon Hall, Franklin, KY, Rippavilla Plantation, Spring Hill, TN , Clement Railroad Museum in Dickson,TN and many other areas of Tennessee.

Mike was nominated in 2009 By the International Paranormal Acknowledgement Awards for National Male Paranormal Investigator and best in Spirit Photography. Mike won for Best in Spirit Photography in 2009 by the International Paranormal Acknowledgement Awards.

Mike has been a guest on various multiple Radio and TV shows, ” America’s Most Terrifying Places “, on TRAVEL CHANNEL ,TV show “Tennessee Crossroads” on PBS in Tennessee ,that featured the VSPR team investigating the Rippavilla Plantation in Spring Hill, TN, A guest on the Art Bell production radio talk show Midnight in the Desert with show host Heather Wade, VSPR was a guest for CAFEMOM.COM magazine. Mike also has guest spoke at various events through out Middle Tennessee and website blogs. Mike has been published in 3 issues of Visions magazine, Chat is Fate magazine from United Kingdom and UN-X News about his paranormal experiences he had in 1994.

During 2019 Bret and Julie Oldham released their book -Afterlife Encounters: Ghost,Spirits, and Near Death Experiences, Mike is featured in chapter 3 in the book. which can be purchased on Amazon. Mike attended at the Rhine Research Center studying parapsychology in 2018. Graduate of Nashville State Community College in History and Early Education. Besides the Paranormal Mike has served as a Police Officer in the US Air Force Security Police and is a Veteran of Desert Shield and Storm. Is a WWII living historian for 30+ years and enjoys photography.


Friday, March 29, 2024