Ghosts, Spirits and Boo’s!

When my daughter was four she had the same problem many kids that age have. She was afraid of the ghosts and monsters under her bed and in her closet. She called them ‘boo’s! My husband and I had to come up with many creative inventions to get her to go to sleep.

It’s not easy to calm those who fear the things that ‘go bump in the night.’ Halloween is thought to be the time when the veil between the spirit world and that of the living is thinnest and therefore it is supposed to be easier to see ghosts and the like.

The fact is the exact date of the ‘Day of the Dead’ in various cultures has changed over time. Anyway ghosts and spirits are actually around all the time. Most people are not aware of them or ignore them. Their religious views, personal fears and Hollywood’s hyped versions of ghosts have caused them to blank out any bit of existing spiritual energy around them.

Ghosts have always been a part of my life. I experienced my first ghostly sighting at two when my older cousin and I watched a blanket move by itself on the bed. Later at four I saw a full size spirit at the head of my bed. It was huge and translucent like a bubble, as it moved my pillow and thus ignited my initial fear of ‘haints’ as they were called in the South at the time. Those were the beginning stages, now part of my living is made “talking to dead people,” (pardon the quote).

We are all essentially spiritual beings living in physical bodies and when our body dies the soul still exists. Many cultures and religions speak of the body and spirit being separate entities. Quantum mechanics brings science into the fray stating that a particle reacts both as an energy wave (the spirit) and as a solid element (the body). Soon there will be a theory to explain life after death in a mathematical formula. Yet will that stop the superstition and fear?

What is a ghost?

A ghost is thought to be the energy or spirit of a person or animal who has passed on. It can appear in various forms. Sometimes it may show up as an apparition which is a misty, film like essence of its human shape. That form may appear as a full body, partial body or only the face. What I have seen of ghosts is that they sometimes like to appear at the healthiest point in their lives not like when they were frail, sick or injured.

Ghosts can be interactive and do things to get us to acknowledge them such as move things, hide keys, leave pennies and feathers or present a familiar odor from the deceased person like cigarette smoke or perfume. Other times they are limited energy, simply playing over and over an incident that they did in the past. This type of ghost may be described as reoccurring and is similar to a dvd replaying a scene. The ghost may be seen pacing back in forth in the house or stirring a pot in the kitchen and so forth.

They can appear as smoke like wisps or as balls of lights or orbs. There is some controversy about the orbs that appear on digital camera pictures. Most like to describe the orbs as simply fragments of dusts or water on the lens. This is the case many times but there are orbs that appear and represent some type of energy formation similar to the appearance of the ball lightening phenomenon.

We are generally afraid of ghosts or spirits because it is something we don’t understand. Life and death are a part of a beautiful cycle; as we live time and time again. We are more than our bodies. Yet everyone has their own viewpoint and must come to terms with where they stand on that level.

Halloween is a good time to think of honoring our ancestors and those who have passed on. Perhaps it is time to open up and look at life with an expanded awareness. Read some books that tell of healing angel encounters and helpful spirits. It is beneficial to see all of the possibilities that exist in the world and understand that our spirituality is the gift of our humanity.