Scary Ghost

As Halloween approaches, we are bombarded with ghastly visions of ghosts, goblins, and spirits from other worlds. Although the mood of the holiday is light and playful, it does touch upon profound questions deeply embedded in the human psyche: What happens to us when we leave our bodies? Do we become “spirit”, and are there spirits around us?

I have always been a “believer” and had a deep knowing that there must be worlds beyond this one. As a child, I had lots of “imaginary” friends and believed that angels would always protect me. Growing up as the only girl amongst 3 brothers, my need to feel “protected” was very high!

As a young adult, I had an experience that would reinforce my belief in protective spirits. I was riding in a vehicle with several friends. Just as we approached an intersection, I took my seat belt off to retrieve some music CDs from a container under the seat. While scanning the CDs, I suddenly heard an urgent voice in my head shout, “Get out of the way!” Startled, I immediately looked up, and I saw a car barreling towards me at full throttle! With total calm and complete presence of mind, I instantly dove from the front seat into the back seat, miraculously escaping the violent impact. Nobody else was hurt either (except perhaps the person I landed on in the back seat!). After observing the damage to the passenger side of the vehicle, the responding police officer couldn’t get over how “lucky” I was and said that he had never seen anything like this in his life. “Somebody upstairs must be looking out for you,” he said as he shook his head in disbelief.

As a teenager, my curiosity about the spirit world unfortunately led me to experiment with a Oujia Board. Wanting to contact deceased human spirits, my friends and I took the Ouija Board into a cemetery. Although we made many “connections” that night, some of them were extremely frightening, and several spirits warned us to discontinue the activity. Having always been sensitive to “energy”, I remember getting a very heavy sensation in my chest and then actually feeling energy drain out of my body. I was so haunted by the experience that I later contacted a member of the clergy, who explained to me the danger of opening “portals” to the spirit world.

Meditate

Although these days I stay very far away from Ouija Boards, I still long to connect to the spiritual realm. While in the past I always searched outside myself for “connection”, I now realize that the only true gateway lies within. Thus, my new tools of choice are meditation and prayer. At the start of each day, I offer a prayer of gratitude for all that is good in my life and ask for guidance in areas where I need help. I then play soothing music and meditate for about 20 minutes. As long as I stick to my daily practice, I find that I am rewarded in countless ways. During my meditations, I often see a kaleidoscope of beautiful colors, receive insights and inspirations, and feel embraced by a loving presence. Throughout the day, I sometimes get a gentle tingling at the top of my head, which sends a wave of calm down my spine. To me, this feels like a loving reminder from above that I am never alone and that I can “connect” to divine energy any time I want.

Since we are all spiritual beings at our essence, I believe that everyone has the power to connect to the universal consciousness. It doesn’t take any special talents, just an open mind and a willingness to “receive” the many gifts of spirit.