This is an excerpt from You’re Not Crazy, It’s Paranormal
My book on the paranormal wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t talk about the dark side of a spiritual awakening and the paranormal. In fact, much of the intuitive work I’ve done with clients has to do with dispelling fears and getting through frightening events. The dark and frightening aspects range from having overall fear of the spiritual awakening process, to literally being haunted by something paranormal. The good news is most of what is scary can be explained, healed and managed. In fact, much of the dark aspects are based on misinformation and lack of information. Many of us were told scary stories growing up about the boogie man, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies, legends, and countless other creatures. But that’s what most of these are, just stories. The more we know what is true and possible, the more empowered we can be in our own spiritual growth process.
Spiritual Awakening Fears
Aside from feeling like you’re going crazy during a spiritual awakening, one can feel like we are in forbidden territory. We are often told that contact with spirit is reserved for the deserving few on earth. How can an ordinary person have access with the Divine? Easy, if we are alive, conscious, aware and willing. And as such, anyone at any time can have this most precious privilege. Many are told to halt their spiritual inquiry as if it were wrong and sinful. I feel this is a huge wrong done and the biggest disservice to a fellow human being. Oftentimes, you can see this throughout history when many have tried to keep the regular population from accessing the divine directly. They kept and/or destroyed information, killed for it, and today they try good old fashion fear-mongering to discourage anyone from searching. The tactics are endless. I’ve heard some religious zealots say a practice like mediation which is the simplest yet most powerful way to connecting with our whole existence, is sinful. They say it opens the door to evil and can even drive you insane. Perhaps what they call insane is this spiritual awakening process we are talking about? Clearly, that isn’t true.
This is just a way of scaring people away from, centering, focusing on their breath, clearing their mind and receiving clarity directly from the source of all. Sadly, some believe these lies and even suppress their own intuition to the point of complete imbalance. A human cannot live on logic alone.
True Healers Versus Bad Psychics, Charlatans and Scam Artists
One of the issues I’ve had to deal with and was completely unexpected, was the fear people have coming for a session from intuitive/sensitive, in the form of psychic or other healer. Fortunately, this is when my background in psychology and crisis counseling becomes remarkably useful. Many of my sessions involves going through the client’s traumatic event, explaining what happened and how true healing is different. I explain that a true healer:
-Is there to help you heal. Not hurt you in any way.
-Is there to empower you and your own abilities, not make you dependent or steal your energy.
-Is there to help explain what you are going through if they can or refer you to someone who can, not lie or make things up.
-Is there to tell you the truth in a compassionate and honest way you can understand. Not to manipulate you.
True healers can have various names and titles. It is often best to go with someone who shares your own belief system. If you do not have a specific belief system, then find someone who specializes in the topic or need of interest. Because we as a whole are becoming more connected socially and technologically, now more people are coming forth with specialties for various needs. This is very beneficial because you have more choices. Again, I will say, use common sense, do research, ask for recommendations and trust your own gut above all. Some healers can include:
- Sensitive, Psychic, Medium, Empath, Clairvoyant
- Shaman
- Priest
- Reverend
- Pastor
- Wiccan
- Rabbi
- Chaos Magician
- Eclectic Reverend
- Voodoo Practitioner
- Santero/a
- Someone who has gone through what you have but may not have an official title.
- Miscellaneous (word of mouth referral you can verify)
A special note on compensation for services.
This is one of the most difficult things to sort through for a lot of healers who were told they are not to charge for their services and gifts. What many do not understand is that these sessions are work and involve time, skill and energy. If someone just provides this for free for everyone, they are giving away a tremendous amount of energy and not replenishing it. They are being disrespectful to themselves and all other healers who give so much of themselves in this process. This is not a healthy or balances situation. Research should be done by the client on the intuitive healer’s process, referrals and of course your own gut instinct.
Those insisting that this particular gift be given away without anything in return are speaking out of fear and ignorance. Ask a yoga teacher, chiropractor, food store owner, or even religious leader not to accept his collection/donation plate at the church and see how ridiculous that is. As with anything, if you are being asked to give a compensation that is unreasonable or harmful to you, run don’t just walk the other way. In cases of true emergencies there is always help available that you don’t have to sacrifice for. A true professional will help you through the emergency and help you accordingly.
There are notorious scam artists with titles of healers, psychics, helpers or any other name. In fact, there are highly skilled psychics with extraordinary abilities but don’t use them for the greater good. Because of freewill, they can use their abilities any way they can, even if it’s for selfish hurtful reasons. These are people who will lie to you, mixed with some truth, frighten you and try to get you to pay unreasonable amounts for doing spells and cleansings or other spiritual works activities. That’s not what a healer does. To manipulate others with spells or other such rituals is interfering with another’s freewill and has huge karmic consequences. Nothing good can come from that so again run away and find a true healing service. As for cleansings, you can have someone professionally assist you. With Feng Shui, there is usually a cost but you can always try it yourself for free or small amounts of money.
Frightening Paranormal Experiences
Many times people experience things they believe is paranormal but can be explained easily as being a normal cause with the right information. The paranormal ghost hunting phenomenon has exploded in movies and television. With that, many people use the paranormal to explain almost anything. Though much is silly entertainment, there is information that is useful to anyone watching some of these programs.
For instance, when certain terms are used like “debunking”, that is something used to explain the cause or reason for a certain suspicious activity as coming from an ordinary source and not paranormal or out-worldly one. Or if someone is saying they hear strange banging in their home, you can try to debunk it by finding if it is loose pipes or some other regular explanation. In another example, if there is some electrical malfunctions like lights flickering one can see if it is something wrong with the wiring or electrical system instead of thinking it’s a ghost. Someone claiming to hear bells or ringing may not know his/her neighbor just put some wind chimes that can explain that away. In some cases someone with an untreated, undiagnosed physical, emotional, mental problem can see or hear things that aren’t there and it isn’t paranormal but a health issue. Hence my ongoing disclaimers to check with medical or mental health professional to be cleared. See full disclaimer at the end of the book.
The list goes on and one must develop proper discernment to get through this delicate process. There was a show that didn’t make it to the mainstream but can still be seen on certain streaming channels called “Paranormal Inspectors”. This show was a bit different from the others because in addition to a sensitive and a paranormal investigator, they used a licensed home inspector. This person was able to check for everyday reasons why things may seem out of place. He often found shelves and the floor were dis-aligned (causing cabinets and doors to open on their own), house or office wasn’t properly insulated (leading to cold spots or unusual noises), non-working furnaces, high electromagnetic emissions (various odd experiences including one is being watched), and so on. All of these situations could possibly lead a person to think something paranormal was going on when it wasn’t. However, when all “normal” issues are ruled out and other things are occurring, one must consider what else could be going on.
Dangerous and Frightening Spirits and Entities
There are countless of people who feel they are being contacted by beings that are disembodied or are out-worldly, as in not from this dimension or planet. Millions upon millions of people are reporting these experiences everyday to the point where I think we all should start paying serious attention. These are people from all walks of life and who live ordinary lives aside from these experiences which have profoundly affected their lives.
Though I think they are both in the realm of paranormal, someone who has had a spirit contact, can contact a medium and psychic sensitive for help. Someone who feels they’ve been contacted by some type of physical but not human being (alien/UFO/other dimensional being), can get help from a reputable research organization who can assess their situation. Either way, reach out for help because it is out there and now more than ever.
If one is feeling contacted by a spiritual entity, the right intuitive person ideally can help identify the source. Do your research and keep searching until you find the right person or group that will provide the proper assistance should you need it. Should contact be validated and confirmed, many will find that it is usually not harmful and nothing to be too concerned about. In fact, many people have loved ones or pets and have had some type of contact be it visual, through dreams, or synchronicities. The best thing to do is not succumb to fear in any case. If the contact is unwelcomed, you can absolutely demand it stops with the right tools and support system. There are techniques sensitives use for this, but sometimes a sincere and confident exclamation like “stop, you are not welcomed here.” will suffice. In other cases, a more involved process may be involved like I did with the caretaker from the restaurant where I burned sage around the house and asked him to go to the light. Even a preventive process can be done, like creating boundaries for those who naturally attract spirit contact but may not realize it.
Some people experience very frightening contacts by malevolent entities. Those may want to harm the person by taking their energy, frighten them for the sake of it, to create chaos, destroy things, and cause disharmony in the home or wherever they are. This is when debunking is crucial and the absolute right
people have to be contacted for help with this. Not any so-called ghost buster will do. This is serious business that has destroyed lives and must be handled properly. If people don’t believe you, which is very common, move on and find the source that can help explain things in a truthful way. Again, it is very unlikely and rare that spirit contact is negative and harmful but should it be there is help out there.
Don’t Open Doors You Can’t Close
I strongly advise people not to dabble with the supernatural for fun and curiosity as you commonly see in the media. When I suggest tools to explore one’s intuitive abilities, I’m talking about your own higher self and contact with love and light only. I personally do not believe trying to contact spirits for the sake of entertainment, fun, boredom, curiosity, grief or any other reason. Just let them be. So many times people, particularly young people think it’s fun and games to get out a spirit board (e.g. Quija) or some other divination device and start playing around asking for spirits to come through.
The problem is that we just don’t know who or what will respond to this opening up of contact. It could be some lost dead child or something more frightening such as a demon. Why take the chance? Also, with people watching all the ghost hunting shows many think they can take a recorder or video and start investigating asking for contact from the other side. Again, there are risks to this not knowing what you are getting yourself into or how to stop it once some activity begins. Then you really have to go and get a professional to help.
The tools used to explore your intuition should be approached with respect, integrity, and sincerity. I can’t emphasize enough to do your research on anything you want to explore. Fortunately, we are gifted with an abundance of information out there to do this. Should you find someone who is also interested in exploring the paranormal, make sure that person is well informed as well. You can be affected by his/her dabbling and they may want to touch the dark arts. This includes activities that harm others/animals, do spells, try to gain power over others etc.
You may also inadvertently attract a fellow person who is a human psychic vampire. Those are people who know you have good energy and want to suck it away leaving you depleted, tired, fatigued and ill. Good boundary work and simple psychic protection can help with this. All in all, the fear and scary aspects can be handled with knowledge and common sense. Next, let’s look at what to look for when possibly having contact with negative energy.
What are Some Signs of Negative Spiritual Contact?
- Being touched constantly and a touch that is unwelcomed and unwanted
- Frightening appearances
- Feeling someone or something is watching you
- Sudden loss of energy and feeling fatigue, dizziness, disorientation, hard to breath, chocking feeling
- Disturbing spiritual, religious, sacred objects my moving, throwing, knocking down, e.g. crosses, Buddha statues, religious texts, etc.
- Frightening children, animals and any vulnerable person
- Symbols and writing appearing unexplained that represent negative, hateful content
- Sudden emotional change into deep anger, depression, hopelessness
- Nightmares that are sudden, frequent, and very real
- Negative synchronicities, where everything is going wrong in an oddly connected, continuous, obvious out-of-control way
- Constant negative thoughts that are out of character
- Feeling ill suddenly and no medical cause
- Knocks and symbols in 3’s. The number 3 is traditionally considered sacred in many traditions. With negative spirits the number is used to mock its sacredness
- Sudden confusion
- Sudden appearance of insects with no explanation, flies, bees, mosquitoes, maggots, worms, ants as in my San Francisco experience
- Foul and horrid unexplained odor. Examples include something that smells like rotten meat, decomposition, sulfur or other negative smell without a source
- Any messages encouraging you to hurt yourself, someone else, animals and property
- A strong gut/intuitive feeling something is very wrong in a place or with someone/something that is around you. Always listen to your gut and don’t worry about being polite
You can find other signs by doing some simple research or look up something specific you may be experiencing. This gives you an idea of things commonly reported and found when a negative situation has arisen. Once this is confirmed, it is again crucial to find the proper help. The right person or group will give you the tools to deal it and ideally encourage you to fight the biggest contributor to things getting worse. That is fear. It is very important to feel confident you have what it takes to make it through this and you will.
Wishing You Wholeness