When Ghosts Speak - Mary Ann Winkowski [96]
Some Cautions
Before I jump into the how-tos of driving away earthbound spirits, I want to briefly talk about the do-nots. Please read this section carefully before you attempt any methods of clearing or protecting your house. Believe me, you don’t want to energize earthbound spirits instead of weakening them.
Know Who You Are Dealing With
Any time you invite someone into your home to do metaphysical work, or you obtain items to use for cleansing or protection, I cannot stress enough how important it is to work with someone who has been recommended to you. Don’t be shy about getting references; ask if there are local clients you can talk with to find out if they were happy with what was done for them. If practitioners are unwilling to supply references, or if clients had any reservations about how things turned out, try to find another option. Remember, anyone can pay their money and take out an ad in the Yellow Pages. If you are not knowledgeable in this area, you must take care that you do not cause trouble rather than diminish it.
Don’t Touch the Holy Water
Since I’m on the topic of cautions here, I want to offer a huge one. Do not, under any circumstances, think that you can dispel a ghost by throwing holy water around. If you are a layperson, you should not be determining how to use something meant for a blessing in another kind of service. This sort of disrespectful behavior really ticks spirits off. If you have an ordained minister or a priest visit you to offer a blessing, that’s one thing. If you as a layperson just start sprinkling the holy water around, you are simply asking for trouble. I have seen spirits become so enraged that they will use their energy to break things, move things, and otherwise display as much of a physical presence as possible. These are the kinds of situations that are often referred to as “hauntings.”
Do Not Talk to, or Yell at, Earthbound Spirits
No matter how tempting it may be to start shouting at ghosts who hide your checkbook or turn the stove on while you’re out of the house or break that expensive piece on the furnace (again!), do not raise your voice or acknowledge them. If you do, you are giving them exactly what they want: your attention and your energy. Try to stay calm and minimize your reactions. This may be enough to send a ghost off in search of bigger and better energy sources.
A few years ago, I spoke by phone to a woman and confirmed that she did have an earthbound spirit in her house. The male ghost wasn’t causing any big trouble—in fact, he was a pretty laid-back kind of guy. I arranged to visit her home later in the following week. Well, let me tell you, when I arrived five or six days later, if the ghost hadn’t had on the same clothes, I wouldn’t have recognized him. Instead of a mellow, average Joe, the ghost I encountered was full of attitude, strutting around the house and showing off some remarkable displays of energy. I remember thinking that we weren’t even close to a full moon, and I wondered where the ghost had gotten all his energy. I mentioned this to the woman, and she sheepishly admitted that she and a few girlfriends had bought a couple of bottles of wine and had a séance after I had confirmed that there was, indeed, an earthbound spirit in her house.
“We thought we could get him to talk to us,” she said. Instead, after several attempts at calling him into the room, the lights started flickering, a small table in the hall tipped over, and two of the wineglasses flew off the table and shattered.
“It scared the heck out of us,” she continued. “So we all started screaming at him, ‘Just you wait