Ghosts Among Us - James Van Praagh [60]
I don’t know why, but I hurriedly left the house and sat down on a bench by the canal. I said a prayer for “Mr. Dussel,” the rest of the occupants of the annex, and the millions of souls who had had to experience such great tragedy. “May only light and happy memories be with them wherever they are.”
I’m sure many of you have felt some kind of connection to past events, historical figures, or certain places. Being sensitive to the world around you and using your intuition are the primary ways to tune in to the spirit world. However, if you need additional help, there are a variety of methods that can speed up the process.
NINE
Making Contact
So far, this book has focused on ghosts—who they are, how they haunt, where they hang out, and how they try to get your attention. Perhaps your curiosity is ripe by now and you have a desire to explore the ghostly world on your own. Do you really want to see, feel, and communicate with ghosts? Is there a way you can enter this world?
Although I have my own particular method of contacting spirits, there are a number of ways and means to call upon and contact the ghostly regions. Some are simple enough and require little, if any, preparation. Other methods require a thought-out plan and some type of apparatus. I suggest that you study each technique and decide which one feels right for you. Some ways can take a lot of time and devotion, but remember: the end result may be worth it.
GHOST HUNTERS
By television standards, it seems like the world is more haunted nowadays. People are just plain curious about ghosts. You would not believe the number of ghost shows that are in development at production companies, never mind the Web sites dedicated to the subject matter, such as International Ghost Hunters, National Ghost Hunters, and any local town’s Ghostbusters R Us. Besides TV ghost series like The Ghost Whisperer, ghosts seem to pop up on cop, medical, and law shows and in other network series. It’s no wonder that a variety of ghostly reality TV shows have joined the bandwagon.
In these ghost-hunting reality shows, ordinary people seek out ghosts in haunted places and convey their findings on camera. Of course, these shows have a variety of specialists who claim to recognize ghostly apparitions. I am not sure what qualifications these specialists possess, or whether they can really detect dimensions where ghosts reside, but the shows are extremely popular. From my understanding, the stars of one show are plumbers by day and ghostbusters by night. I am sure they take their work very seriously, and I respect them for opening people’s minds to the world of ghosts.
Today’s technology has certainly made hunting ghosts more popular than ever before. Gone are the days of table tipping and flying sheets. Now we have not only night vision goggles but ghost-vision goggles, temperature recorders, energy receivers, sound amplifiers, and a potpourri of other instrumentation. If you want to go on your own ghost-hunting expedition and contact spirits in the manner of a ghostbuster, you will need the following ingredients.
Intention
There is one factor that I cannot emphasize enough, and that is the motive behind your desire to contact ghosts. You must have a clear intention as to why you want to explore this world. Do you want to be of service and help another person find his or her deceased relative or friend? Do you want to bring peace to a ghost? Are you helping a spirit move on? Do you want to rescue a ghost from its current troubled condition? Are you trying to contact the other side as a game, as a joke, or to scare your friends? Ghost hunting must be taken seriously because ghosts are not to be fooled with. You could very well enter a world for which you are not at all prepared, and there may be consequences you cannot handle. Remember