We live in an age that tends to dismiss history, especially in regard to what we might otherwise embrace as ancient wisdom. Intellectuals tend to dismiss the spiritual and mystical experiences of their ancestors while anti-intellectuals tend to dismiss the accumulation of knowledge that gave us the medical science and technology that keeps us alive longer and more comfortable in our homes than any other time before in human history. The holidays have been preserved, but in ways that largely do not reflect their original meaning or intention of our ancestors, which have either been forgotten or entirely erased by our materialistic worldview.
Many of us would not pause to wonder about the perspectives of ancient people. What could the ancients possibly tell us, right? They believed in spirits and ghosts, nonsensical gods and goddesses, and invisible places where people go when they die, and they believed all this foolishness because they were too ignorant to know better. Then there are those of us who believe in the other extreme perspective, dismissing today’s knowledge while fully embracing every superstition that ever existed, and then there are people like me who find at least a grain of truth in all our perspectives, from the beginning of human history to the present. Our life experiences have compelled us to be more open minded. After experiencing the inexplicable more than a few times, we cannot deny there is still quite a bit of mystery to life and death, and maybe our ancient ancestors were not so foolish after all.
Today’s contemporary Halloween celebrations mostly focus on having fun with family, friends and neighbors. Trick or Treat is fun for children, and dressing up in a costume is fun for everyone. Rarely is the holiday taken seriously, and although ghost stories might be told, they are regarded as pure fiction told for a few laughs. Today’s Halloween celebrations may resemble the ancient traditions, but for the most part, they dismiss the original ancient Celtic intention of the holiday to acknowledge this time of year when the veil that separates the world of the living from the world of the departed spirits is at its thinnest, which enables spirits and ghosts to more easily cross into our world from theirs. The ancient Celts believed some of these spirits who cross through the veil to our world might be good spirits who wish to protect us from the bad spirits who wish to harm us. Therefore, it was a practice to keep treats around to welcome the good spirits while also performing rituals such as wearing a mask to hide from the bad spirits. They hoped that if the spirits could not recognize you, they would not find you. There have been several articles written on this subject, but my favorite one is “A Thin Veil: Samhain and the Pagan Origins of Halloween”, by Tatum Lindquist, which was published by The Daily of the University of Washington October 28, 2021 Click on this link https://www.dailyuw.com/opinion/community/article_526926f8-3796-11ec-8f64-cb2eb10f2262.html?fbclid=IwAR30sNEmgJPTySurXIbRwjr565Q7-JtJAKZCEqfYaCWuX4nR5NTJ3LitJJE to read the article.
Have you ever asked, “What if ghost stories were true stories?” Have you ever wondered if a place was haunted? Have you felt the presence of something either creepy or benevolent around you that cannot be explained? If you have seen a spirit, how do you know you have not lost your mind? Those of us who have had paranormal experiences tend to be silent about them because we don’t want to be deemed mentally ill. However, if we were living during the age of the ancient Celts, our mystical experiences would be considered normal. Nearly everyone had been witnesses of the activities of spirits throughout their daily lives, but especially during the Halloween season. So, I would say that if you are not the only one who has seen or heard a particular spirit, you are probably not mentally ill. If others witness the same inexplicable noises and activities of a spirit, it is more likely than not that the presence of the spirit is real. Maybe our explanation for it is inaccurate, but the experience cannot be simply dismissed as one person’s imagination or psychosis. One could argue everyone who shares the experience is psychotic, but that’s actually more far-fetched and unlikely than the reality of the shared experience.
I can provide several examples. One example is a spirit that had been renowned in our community for disturbing the peace at a local club of train enthusiasts. Several members reported this spirit’s unwelcomed activities at their club such as switching on the toy train track after they had turned off the electricity, taunting club members by pulling on their clothes or tossing their hair, throwing things off the shelves, etc. All sorts of explanations were offered, but none of them stopped the activities until the president of the club decided something different had to be done because this ghost had become increasingly aggressive. He decided to follow the advice of a ghost whisperer, Louis Charles, who had written a book called, Helping Ghosts: A Guide to Understanding Lost Spirits. After reading the book, he went to the train club by himself to have a conversation with the lost spirt who seemed to be residing there. He addressed the spirit compassionately and persuaded him to follow the light and cross over to the other side of the veil. He later reported to me that the spirit became angry at first and threw things around the room. He turned the train track on, and made it run at top speed around the track with lights flashing on and off. Eventually, the spirit calmed down, or perhaps just ran out of energy. The president of the club maintained his composure throughout this spirit’s temper fit. When the spirit calmed down, he told the spirit he truly wished him well on his journey and reassured him that there was nothing to fear. He then felt the spirit gently brush past him, and that marked the last time this spirit was detected at the club. The president of the club said he intuitively sensed the spirit had said a friendly goodbye in the only way he could and left in peace.
Throughout my life I have had several paranormal experiences, and I’ve come to believe there are in fact spirits on both sides of the veil, but I hope the ones who are on the other side, wherever that might be, are at peace, feeling joy, and healing from whatever trauma they may have experienced on this side of the veil, knowing they are loved by a higher power that can heal all wounds of the soul. As for the spirits who still wander on this side of the veil, I hope and pray they find their way home to the other side and are healed with love as well.
Wherever spirits may roam, I find it helpful to hold the perspective that they are just people who are now alive in a different form of energy. The only difference between them and us is our form, but our essence is the same, which can have either good or bad intentions. The spirits from the other side of the veil are no more or less harmful than we are, and some of them may be departed loved ones, perhaps even our departed pets, who occasionally pay us a friendly visit just to reassure us that they still love us. Perhaps we are never really alone, and if we feel lost, there is someone out there on both sides of the veil who can help us to find our way, and all we need to do is ask for their help.
Happy Halloween, dear readers. May the good spirits be with you.
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