What is a Ghost?
A ghost or apparition is usually referred to as the images, sounds, or presence of some part of a person that has survived the death of a body. Most people refer to a ghost as any unusual or "paranormal" activity, especially movement of objects directly or indirectly seen. Feeling the presence of someone is the most commonly reported ghost experience ,as well as the actual visual image. Hearing voices or other sounds and smelling certain odors are also reported in ghost encounters.
Sometimes, the activity experienced may not be a ghost , but actually emotions "recorded" in the walls and objects of the house that is haunted. These emotional "vibrations" cause activity that resemble ghost activity, but are not actually discarnate entities. In some haunted house investigations the only ghost activity present is the "ghost" of emotions.
Poltergeist is a word that means "noisy ghost." A poltergeist is usually referred to as any ghost activity involving physical movement or disturbances caused by unseen agents. Typical poltergeist activity is when objects such as pictures, dolls, kitchen utensils, and furniture are moved across a room or are flung through the air by some unknown force. These disturbances may be accompanied by lights going on or off and by unusual wrapping sounds. Before the twentieth century, poltergeists were considered evil or mischievous "spirits of the dead."
However, more recent investigations of these "poltergeist" hauntings have revealed human agents as the cause of the paranormal activity. Energy produced by a living person or persons produces the movement of objects, not ghosts.
This energy is also called psychokinetic energy and it is produced by the mind and subconscious thoughts of a living person. To have poltergeist activity there must be a poltergeist agent. Strong emotional energy causing poltergeist activity usually emanates from the emotions of someone going through the breakup of a long-term relationship such as in divorce, or from debilitating fears, grief, and/or depression.
Classifications of Ghosts
There are three classifications of apparitions. The "apparitions of the dead" are figures looking and acting like recognizable personalities who have been dead for a while. The second class, called "crisis apparition", generally relates to a crisis in which the person represented by the apparition finds himself in a dangerous situation or in the process of dying. The last type is called the "apparitions of the living," in which an apparition seen at one location represents a living person that is actually somewhere else. "Apparitions of the long dead," thus called the post mortem type, vary in the length of time that the person has been deceased. If the ghost is attached to the person, moving from the location of the haunting will not stop the activity.
In this type of haunting the ghosts may appear in different clothing and at different ages. It is usually centered in one location but may be seen throughout the house in several areas and to several people. It may also communicate using touch, sound or through smell. "Crisis Apparitions" or "Apparitions of the recently deceased" are the most common experiences. You may have seen an apparition of someone you knew or dreamed of that person and this experience left you with the feeling that something had happened to them. Then you find out later that the person had indeed died. These experiences usually occur within 12 to 24 hours of the actual death. Apparitions of the living may be spontaneous as in an out-of-body experience or deliberate as in the case of a child trying to let their mother know she is seriously hurt. In some out of body experiences a person may simply be looking down at his or her body or be in another location being seen. Alex Tanous, a well-known and exceptionally gifted psychic, could bi-locate which means he had the ability to be in two locations at once. I have had the pleasure of talking to him as well as receiving a personal reading on a cruise a few years before he died.
How to Deal with Ghosts
Your reaction to the ghost is the essential factor in determining whether the haunting experience is pleasant or frightening. In fact your emotional reaction to the entity can actually cause the discarnate energy to remain at your home. Strong emotions produce energy which will cause the spirit to continue manifesting. If you stay calm, you will gain control of your haunting situation. Haunting situations reported in the media are usually depicted as frightening. In reality there are very few so-called evil spirits. Defining a spirit as evil is a matter of perception. If you encounter a ghost and you run, trip and injure yourself, you are likely to blame the spirit for your injury, thus perceiving the ghost as harmful. In reality it was your fear that caused the harm. If you feel pressure on your body while walking into a spirit energy field, you are likely to conclude the spirit blocked you from entering a room. If you feel pressure while you are lying in bed in a prone position, you are likely to conclude that the spirit was trying to hold you down. These experiences could influence you to perceive that the encounter was with an evil ghost.
All of us have the ability to be intuitive. Some of us pay attention to it and trust it, while others simply ignore it or dismiss it as impossible. To attempt intuitive communication with a spirit you need to quiet yourself, preferably when there are no outside distractions. Relax....... Take a deep breath..... Mentally ask the spirit who it is or why it is there. Do not expect to receive a direct answer as you would talking to someone who is physically present. It is best to mentally repeat the phrase as though it was mantra during a meditation exercise. Stay quiet and mentally listen for any thoughts that pop into your mind. Do not analyze the thoughts. Simply remember and record. Repeat the communication attempts at various times. Then check to see if any thoughts are repeated. Repetition of the thoughts at various times could offer the clues to determine the purpose of the haunting or who is haunting. Describe the types of activities that are occurring. Is the activity occurring around one particular person or several? Check for a pattern of the disturbances that affect objects or people around you. What are the locations of the disturbances? Have you noticed any particular times for the spirit activity? Who are the people having the activity? Are the disturbances frequent or infrequent? Have you looked for any tangible or ordinary explanation for the disturbance? Has there been any activity when no one was home? Describe the emotional feeling that relates to the ghost or its possible intent.
What is the difference between a ghost and a spirit?
Fifteen years ago, when I first started exploring the paranormal, the term ghost was frequently used in describing haunted places or encounters. Today the terms ghost, spirit, apparition, or discarnate entities are all used interchangeably. However, the term "spirit" is considered more user friendly because it creates a more benevolent, friendly description of the phenomenon. In contrast, the term "ghost" may elicit a more frightening reaction in a person.
So the psychic or medium may use either and still be correct. The term "ghost" or "apparition" is used more to describe phenomenon in haunted dwellings whereas "spirit" is popularly used for deceased loved ones or communication with someone deceased. However, the term "ghost" sometimes makes a more dramatic statement and is immediately recognized as synonymous with a haunting. Imagine yourself face-to-face with an apparition. What images come to mind when you think of seeing a ghost? Do you think of white-sheeted beings or cloudy figures standing in front of you? Maybe you think of frighteningly grotesque images of faces. Perhaps you have already seen a ghost, but you do not know you have seen one. Ghosts do not look like cloudy white figures. They look like real people. Sometimes, they may appear as sort of an out of-focus image or as a slightly transparent figure, but most apparitions look like you and me. In some encounters, you may not even be aware that you are looking at a ghost, unless the figure suddenly vanishes.
Most apparitions are described as being "real" or "solid" and are seen wearing clothing. They are often heard and can sometimes be touched and smelled as with any "real" living person. They are often seen by more than one person at a time and can be seen from different angles. One person may see the figure from the front and another person may see it from the rear.
The ghost may behave in the setting as would any person who was physically there. A ghost may suddenly appear and disappear and may even glow in the dark. Ghosts may pass through walls and other solid objects or appear to be floating in the air.
Ghosts may communicate ideas with words, gestures, or other symbols telepathically. Although the age and physical appearance of a ghost may change from time to time, they never shrink or grow.
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