Fringe Dweller on the Night Shift

Monica Holy goes public with amazing revelations in this highly personal memoir of her life as an astral traveler, warping though other dimensions, performing healing and rescue on the "night shift." In doing so, she either touches you with the sincerity of her words, or reading these stories, so far from ordinary experience, may leave you wondering if she is just a nut case.

What is a Fringe Dweller?

While her descriptions of the other realms correspond to reports of other astral wanderers, her activities cover a larger range than is usual with such accounts. The author acknowledges that her paranormal experiences don't seem to fit any of the usual labels - medium, psychic, shaman, mystic, etc. It was her guides (the astral beings she encounters) who called her a "fringe-dweller," and that is the label she prefers. She tells us she began to sense other dimensions from an early age, but grew up in a small Canadian town where there was no information about paranormal happenings. Because she did not know about others like herself, she could not place herself in some niche of normality. She was left with the feeling that she was not like those around her; she was different. But as she took on the duties of a rescuer during nighttime sleep, she became aware of others like herself. She wrote this book to let others having similar experiences know that they are not alone.

At Work in the Other World

Even if you are not aware of going to other dimensions in your sleep, Holy's book is still a good read. Each chapter describes aspects of her experiences and each is accompanied by an artistic depiction (the author's own art work) of what she saw and felt. She is not unique in the belief that we visit the astral world in our sleep, or that we receive help from spirit guides. One of the stranger tales is that her work on the "night shift" is an actual job, which came with a "contract" to perform these duties. But even this idea reminds me of the stories in the works of Brazilian medium Francisco Xavier. In particular, see "Nosso Lar" and "The Messengers." The near-earth astral world is apparently structured much like ours. Those who go there after death do find themselves with jobs to perform. This first stop is a way station, and they remain there only for a while.

The author does not claim to know all about life after death just because she visits astral realms. But she does offer some insight. She tells us that we have multiple lives and they are all happening together, at least in other dimensions that do not function like our material world. As you go beyond the first astral layer, you become lighter and capable of traveling huge distances in an instant. The author visits Mars and looks down on the remains of an ancient civilization. This, during a break from her duties (not your usual coffee break!). Although she emphasizes that love is what ultimately makes the universe (didn't you always know that "love makes the world go round…" ), there are also dark places in the astral world. Spirits do not always find the light; some are mired in their own darkness and will need help to move on. If you want to know more about astral travel, look into the works of Robert Monroe, my favorite author on this subject.

The Source and The Grid

The author does not talk about God, but rather calls the creation point the Source. The many dimensions are held in what she calls the "grid" which she has seen or perceived on a few occasions. It is literally made of a web of energy. It is interesting to me that in these accounts of the world of spirit, people do not say they see God, but do say they see many spirit entities who are all around us. Holy gave me few new concepts too - the "push-thought" (influencing a living person by pushing helpful thoughts to them) and the "jump-in" (occupying their consciousness for a brief time in order to provide immediate help).

Is is Real?

Are the experiences this author describes "real," or are they hallucinations or some type of mental aberration? She tells us she has worked with counselors who have declared her mentally healthy. Her descriptions are not unlike other astral travelers, so unless you think all such experiences are bogus, I suggest taking her descriptions at face value. Have you never had dreams that seem more than silly fantasies woven around the day's events? Have you never gotten a message that seemed to come from somewhere outside yourself? Modern science does not accept the legitimacy of the spirit world, so it does not know what to do with spirit communication except label it as "crazy."

Go to the amazon.com page for Fringe Dweller on the Night Shift: True Stories from an Afterlife Paramedic.

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