Posts Tagged ‘Paranormal’

Maggie can’t leave the kitchen while anything is cooking.  As long as she stays in the kitchen everything is fine.  But if she leaves, the stove top, oven, toaster, whatever she has been using, mysteriously shuts itself off.

She has narrowed this phenomenon down to the presence of her “kitchen ghost,” as she likes to call it – a woman who had died, and carried with her a fear of fire. Maggie has resolved the problem by bringing into the kitchen good music and plenty of reading material whenever she wants to cook. “I like my kitchen ghost,” she confesses. “I never want her to leave. Now I don’t have to worry about whether or not I turned the coffee pot off.”

Alice, a single teenage mother with an infant, lives with her own mother in a two story home. Alice goes to school part-time and Grandma Sarah, while not working, watches the baby. After Alice sees a spirit in the living room one day we are called in to do a “ghost clearing” Alice hopes the session will explain the unknown footsteps in the middle of the night, doors mysteriously left open, her feeling of being watched.

We go in and, forming a healing circle, convince the spirit of an angry elderly man to leave the house and complete his journey to Spirit. He moves on to a better place, joining his ancestors in peace. A second spirit, a nice woman, moves on as well…easily…almost too easily. First she is there, and then she’s not. We don’t see her anymore and the house is at peace. So we leave, thinking our work is done.

It is now two months later, and we get a call from Alice. She says that she smells perfume every-so-often, and that at one point she felt a comforting presence, watching over her during a period of sadness and despair. “Steve, do you think I could have prevented the spirit from moving on during the clearing? At one point,” she relates sheepishly, “I thought to the spirit that she could come back anytime she wanted to.”

Alice finally shares something she hadn’t shared before. A few weeks before the clearing session, she had left the baby alone in the bedroom while going quickly to another room to take care of errands. “It’s safe,” she thought. “The baby can’t even roll over yet.” But, while in the other room, she heard a noise and rushed back to the bedroom to behold something amazing. The baby was hovering midway between the bed top and the floor, and was slowly being “lifted” by invisible hands through the air, to be gently placed upon the bed. “I’m not ready to let go of the ghost yet,” she confides. “I really want the extra help.”

While traveling, we might see an advertisement about, and actually participate in, a “ghost tour.” Some of those ghost tours actually do include ghosts! Many of the spirits may be comfortable where they are – Earthbound. There are many people that wish the spirits to stay, and many of the spirits might feel good about being wanted, and attended to.

Claire had told her husband, before he died, that he could evaluate, or at least meet, prospective husbands for her before he succumbed to terminal cancer. She hadn’t wanted to agree to this, but did so in order to appease him and alleviate his fears.  A short while later her husband died and after some time of mourning, she decided to date again.

Her first date had car trouble before going to pick her up; the engagement never took place. Her second date tripped on her front doorstep, severely straining his ankle. Some time later, she actually went out to dinner with a man, only to have a chandelier fall from the restaurant ceiling, narrowly missing his head. “Steve,” she admits. “I think it might be time for me to let go of my husband.”

As Light Workers, part of our job description is to help bring people higher levels of awareness, a greater sense of peace. And this is not limited to those people still embodied, but also to those who are disembodied – ghosts. At the time of death, and thereafter, having not taken advantage of the gateway to a Higher Reality, these Earthbound Spirits often roam unconsciously around the Earth, haunting various people and/or places. As a service, we can help these spirits become more aware of their surroundings, and their choices – to stay upon the Earth Plane, or to continue the journey to Spirit, joining their ancestors in a place of greater peace and contentment.

At times, it may seem hard to decide if and when to release spirit. If the spirit has become a problem then we may easily decide to send him or her onward. Doors or closets opening and closing, lights coming on or off,  bad smells, people having negative physical interactions with the spirit, bothersome noises at times, other more negative interactions – all these may prompt a person to send the ghost onward.

But what about a spirit that just wants to help, a spirit who is comfortable where he or she is? What about a spirit that is more of a helper than a hinderer? In the first example above, the situation with the kitchen ghost, Maggie did not even help the spirit become aware of her choices. She decided to keep the spirit in the dark, assuming that the spirit would be more than happy to stay and watch the kitchen. This, to me, may have been an unethical decision on Maggie’s part. I felt the need to communicate with the spirit, to see if I could help. However, I was not given permission from the homeowner to do so. Even if I had tried to send the spirit onward, the homeowner might have just as easily kept the spirit there.

In the second example, Alice, the single teenage mother, had the heart and the willingness to help lead the spirit to a greater state of awareness, but then, out of fear or the need for additional help with her baby, she invited the ghost to stay. During that incident, we were able to communicate clearly to the spirit that she had an option to find greater peace with her ancestors. However, the single mother and the ghost had reached an agreement in which the ghost would stay and help. The mother wanted the help, and the spirit wanted to help. Alice, however, did agree that at some future time when she was feeling better and more confident about her own parenting skills, she would once again contact the ghost. She would remind the ghost about greater peace and contentment being available. She would sincerely urge the spirit onward.

What about a spirit who is actually a loved one who has passed on? These situations can cause ethical, moral, and emotional dilemmas. For someone who has recently lost a loved one, it is often “normal” for the spirit to hang around for some time, normal for the bereaved to “hallucinate” the presence of the deceased. If the relationship is supportive and loving, I will not even try to send the spirit onward. There may be a need on both the person’s parts to continue the relationship. However, if the relationship turns harmful or limiting, if it interferes with the healthy functioning of either individual, then it may be time to intervene. It may be time to help both of them with the grief process, allowing, even encouraging, the separation. Claire, whose husband had died holding onto the thought of interviewing prospective husbands for her, had finally reached a new level of awareness herself. After realizing that her husband had been hanging around, being perhaps a bit too forceful with his interviews, she had reached a decision to help him reach a new, higher, level of awareness.

There is no pat answer as to when we “should” send an Earthbound spirit onward. For “simple” hauntings, those in which the spirit is just hanging around or observing, we may be doing a disservice to those ghosts that we know are present if we merely ignore them. The same holds true for more “complex” cases. We can review our motives, our needs and wants, and approach the situation with loving kindness, from the heart. We treat the ghosts as we would real people. They may be lost or merely unaware of the option to find greater peace. When the spirit is letting its presence be known, he or she is also more open to receiving our communications, to listening to us. We can, at that time, communicate with them. We can let them know that they are dead, their responsibilities upon the Earth are over, they are forgiven for what they did or didn’t do, and loved ones are waiting (in the Light) to greet them and to help them. If family, they can come back to visit on holidays and other times, but they must not linger.

They have their own lives to lead…in Spirit.

Steven Rogat will be a guest on The Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show in early 2010 . Check back for the official show date coming soon.

More about Steven Rogat…
Steven is a gifted clairvoyant, medical/emotional intuitive, and shamanic healer renowned for his ability to touch others’ lives with his wisdom, insight, and healing. He is a National Certified Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor who brings to his practice extensive training with indigenous healers in the Hawaiian, Mexican, and Native American traditions. He is also a massage therapist, hypnotherapist, Eye Movement Therapist (EMDR) and Thought Field Therapist (TFT) whose variety of skills and natural clairvoyance create a unique opportunity for healing. Steven’s books include Healing Thoughts: Applying Therapeutic Shamanism in Your Daily Life and, co-written with Marcia Rogat, Spirit Journeys: Freeing the Soul in This Life and Beyond. More info at: www.CreativeThought.org

This summer on the Examiner I shared the Best Metaphysical Movies to watch and discuss with friends. This fall as Halloween draws near, there’s no better time than the present to list the best Paranormal Movies that are entertaining, informing and at times, downright frightening. This particular list focuses more on (reportedly fictional) paranormal style movies, rather than horror. Horror movies are certainly based on paranormal circumstances, but for the sake of this list, I’m choosing to focus on paranormal monsters and events.

Don’t be shy, share your favorites paranormal movies with me and together we’ll grow the list to share with others. If you’re wondering what next “Best” list I have on order- coming this winter, I’ll deliver the Best of Sci Fi.

As promised in the Best Metaphysical Movies list,

I present

“Paranormal Movies, Chills, Thrills and Mysteries Galore”

In no particular order, my list of Best Paranormal Movies are:

• GhostBusters 1 & 2
• Dracula
• Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein
• Wolf
• The Wolfman
• The Mummy
• The Howling
• Carrie
• An American Werewolf in London
• Young Frakenstein
• The Sixth Sense
• Interview with a Vampire
• Poltergeist
• The Entity
• The Exorcist
• Salems Lot
• Signs
• Witches of Eastwick
• Hocus Pocus
• Practical Magic
• Rosemary’s Baby
• The Shining
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

I always love to throw in a few tv shows too…

• True Blood
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Charmed

More about Kala Ambrose:
Kala is an award winning author, intuitive and talk show host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show. Her thought-provoking interviews entice listeners to tune in around the globe! Described by her guests and listeners as discerning, empowering and inspiring, she speaks with world renowned authors, artists, teachers and researchers delving into metaphysical, holistic and paranormal topics. Kala’s  book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled delves into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian mystery schools and explains their wisdom teachings. Kala lectures on Esoteric Teachings,  Developing Business Intuition, Working with Auras, Chakras and Energy Fields, and Wise Woman Wisdom. Kala’s Guided Meditations CD’s have just been released with Spirit of Hawaii and Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey.  More info: www.ExploreYourSpirit.com

The moment that consciousness of the world around him first bloomed in the mind of primitive man, god was. Early man could only explain the awesome terror of thunder and lightning flashing through the night, the wonder of a child birthed into the world, the mysterious, inescapable power of death, as the work of some force, some entity greater than himself.  An eternal force, all-powerful, all knowing, immutable.

God.

Millions of years later, most of humanity still holds a belief in a god, or gods. This, despite the fact that there is not one shred of evidence to prove that god exists. Simply stated, a belief in god is an act of faith.

Over the last five years or so, I have been actively engaged in studying paranormal events as I researched my three books about ghosts and ghosthunting. As I conducted my research, my curiosity about paranormal activity deepened. I began to ask larger questions: What were ghosts, exactly? What was the nature of their existence if, in fact, they existed? What did their existence say about the nature of our existence? What did it say about the possibility of human existence after death? An afterlife?

That’s when parapsychology ran smack into theology.

If ghosts exist, then there must be another level of existence for us after death. Such an afterlife is incorporeal, a realm of spirit energy. Nearly all the world’s religions down through the ages have maintained a belief in some sort of afterlife, or at least, a belief in a spirit world distinct from the human plane of existence.

Here’s where things get a bit sticky. If god were spirit, then he would be part of, or would exist in that spirit realm. Is it possible then, that the existence of ghosts could be evidence of sorts of the existence of god, since both would presume that world of spirit?

A woman approached me after I had given a talk about ghosts at a library in Ohio. She said that she was a devout Christian and, as such, believed in ghosts because they proved to her that there was life after death as Jesus had promised.  A few minutes later, a second woman came up to me and said that, as a devout Christian, she categorically denied the existence of ghosts!  They were the work of Satan, designed to confuse us poor mortals and lead us astray. Two devout Christians, two opposite ideas about ghosts. These different viewpoints served as the springboard for my inquiry into the connections between parapsychology and theology, ghosts and religion.

I was raised in a traditional Roman Catholic family where the Holy Ghost was invoked every time I began to pray and made the Sign of the Cross. I didn’t give the term much thought as a youth, but in later years, I did question the word ghost, as did the Church apparently, since the term more commonly in use these days is Holy Spirit, rather than Holy Ghost. But, why the switch?

The change makes sense. The word spirit refers to a being that never had a corporeal existence, in other words, a being that was never human, but was always spirit. For religious folk, angels and demons, gods and goddesses would fall into this category.

The word ghost, on the other hand, refers to a being that was once alive as you and me. Now deceased and without a body, the essence–perhaps soul–of that person remains earthbound for whatever reasons. I think of this ghosthood as a transitional state, something akin to getting off a bus at the wrong stop. We know we haven’t reached our proper destination and now we’re lost, confounded, without a direction–or a bus–to guide us home.

This distinction between ghost and spirit, helpful as it may be while investigating paranormal events, becomes less clear when theology enters the picture. Some of the world’s religions, notably Christianity, believe in a god that is also human–fully human and fully divine. These gods die, just as we mortals die, but what then is the nature of their existence after death? Ghost or spirit? Reading the New Testament accounts of Jesus after his death suddenly appearing among his disciples in a locked room, or materializing beside two disciples on the road to Emmaus, one is struck by how ghostly these events seem. In many details, they mirror modern day ghost sightings. What of Lazarus coming forth from his tomb? Was he a ghost?

As we explore the connection between parapsychology and theology, it would be helpful to use one term that would encompass our traditional understanding of ghosts and spirits (gods). I propose the term spiritual energies. Here, spiritual refers to any being that does not exist in a corporeal state. The word energies means that these beings have some force, some essence associated with them. Since we know that all things are energy, the word energies is useful in capturing the conceept of both ghosts and spirits. It makes no claim as to whether these beings have intelligence, emotions, motivations, etc.; it simply says that they are.

There are three possible explanations for the existence of spiritual energies:

1. Spiritual energies are actually manifestations of physical laws whose science we do not yet understand. Just as centuries ago, radio waves and microwaves were unknown, it might be that science, especially quantum physics, will demystify paranormal and divine events to show them up as naturally occurring scientific phenomena.

2. Spiritual energies may be products of our own neurological and psychological functions. It may be that paranormal and divine manifestations stem from our own hallucinations, misperceptions, delusions, and physical and metal abnormalities. In other words, we experience spiritual energies in our minds and not as objective reality.

3. Spiritual energies may, indeed, be real entities inhabiting a realm of existence separate from our own and subject to metaphysical properties and laws unknown to us. Ghosts, then, are real in this scenario, as is god.

More about John B. Kachuba:
John B. Kachuba is the author of Ghosthunting: On the Trail of Mediums, Dowsers, Spirit Seekers and Other Investigators of America’s Paranormal World, Ghosthunting Illinois and Ghosthunting Ohio. Author John Kachuba holds advanced degrees in Creative Writing from Antioch University (Yellow Springs, OH) and Ohio University. He has taught writing at both the University of Cincinnati and Ohio University. He is also on the faculty of the Gotham Writers Workshop. John is a noted conference speaker and presenter and has appeared at Wildacres Writing Workshop, Florida Suncoast Writers Conference, Columbus Writers Conference, Erma Bombeck Humor Writing Workshop, Blooming Grove Writers Conference, West Virginia Ghost Hunters and Spirituality Conference, Haunted America Conference, and Victory of Light Psychic Festival. He has also spoken on many radio and television programs throughout the country and internationally. John lives in Athens, Ohio, with his wife Mary. More info at http://johnkachuba.com

Listen to interviews with Kala and John Kachuba on ghosts, hauntings and paranormal experiences on The Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show.

Shows include:

http://exploreyourspirit.com/Media/shows2.shtml#GHOSTHUNTINGGUIDES08

and

http://exploreyourspirit.com/Media/shows2.shtml#KACHUBAGHOSTTRAIL

and

http://exploreyourspirit.com/Media/shows2.shtml#KACHUBA