| Understanding Spirits |
| One of the most important part about our work is our deepest desire to understand spirits. As I have mentioned before, we are not out to prove spirits. We know they exists. So our goals have been trying to understand each spirit we come across. The hardest part is getting through all the myths about what spirits are. They are labeled as demons, angels, and many other uncalled for names. I would like to clarify some of these misunderstandings right now. What I have found is that spirits will say they are demons to get you to leave them alone. But if you are persistent, as we are, you'll also hear them say that if they are of Christian faith or under that umbrella of faith. Christians are terrified of demons. So what better way to frighten you away from them? One of the biggest misconceptions I believe to be to date is demons. Yes, there are evil in the spirits realm as there are in our world of the living. But human spirits are not demons. They were us at one time and people fail to understand this. On my own personal journey, I have met many types of spirits. Unfortunately, non were demons. They have made claims to be demons. But when I tell them I do not believe in that, they soon turn to say they are angels...but listen closely as you can usually hear them giggling about it. When I stated that I don't believe in angels either...they wanted to know why. I explained why. Of course, those that were or still are of Christian faith, were dumbfounded by my response and they got a little upset. But that proved to me that they were only making false claims to get me to leave. When it didn't work, they gave in and started talking to me. I think they were more curious now about me than I was of them. Ruth, one of these spirits, is a heavy believer in the Christian faith. She was the wife of Raymond, the man who built my home in 1910. Ray died in this home from emphysema and Ruth died of natural causes in a convalescent home in town. But both are here in my home or with me no matter where I go now. Ruth now yells at me for "arguing with God". And this is also why I believe that they can hear our thoughts. I argue a lot in my head about my theories. And one of my biggest arguments are with God and why spirits are forced to watch life go on without them. But she is a good woman and corrects me when I need to be corrected. I appreciate her very much and I do take her words to heart. It didn't start off all nice and calm when I first bought my home in 2007. I knew there were spirits here but I usually avoid recoding in my homes at the time when I came here. But we kept hearing a woman humming songs in a room next to the living room. And once, I heard a female singing with the radio. So, of course, I had to know who she was. They were very angry with me when I first recorded them. They said.."You didn't ask permission and you didn't give us a chance to get to know you first!" I felt bad. Then I heard the words "demons" and laughed. I explained to them that I have been doing this for many years and do not believe in Demons. ( I do this on many investigations when spirits try to claim they are demons). So they in turn stated that they were angels. When I said I didn't believe in that as well, they got upset with me. Some laughed because they thought I was funny but Ruth didn't find me funny at all. She wanted to know why I felt the way that I did. My answer was....I believe in many levels of spirits and realms. I have seen mythical creatures but none were demons or angels. I think she was surprised at my answer. She said that even though I believe what I believe, I should understand that spirits can and will harm us if we are not careful. I agreed and left it at that. But this is my point...no matter where I have been or what types of spirits I have dealt with, none of them were demons or angels. Sure, there are mean spirits. But I feel some of them have a right to be angry. How would you feel if you were to die today with the belief of eternal peace and rest but yet you are spirit in which you can never sleep or rest eternally as promised? These folks are tired and want the rest they were promised. But that is yet to be found. I have dealt with spirits that were murderers and just evil beings in life and now in death. But does that make them demons? I think not. Yes, they are still nasty as ever but they are human. One of the things I have learned is that no matter what kind of spirit you are dealing with, they always talk. Even the ones that say "leave me alone" or "get out", will still talk to you. That's why I enjoy white noise EVP. We get to hear everything if we know how to listen. Spirits only have their words now and sense of smell and touch. If they died with the capabilities to read, they can read as well in spirit. Get to know your spirits that you are working with. And try very hard to resist the urge to label them. They already feel like monsters. Most feel like they are being punished because they are here in spirit. Especially those with religious faiths. Many spirits that are of faith, believe they are going to heaven someday. And there are those who now have lost their faith in all religious aspects. That does not give us the right to judge them. If you are just starting out or are thinking about working with spirits...here is some advice I have to offer you.... 1) Do your research! I have found that most places have spirits from 1700-1800's (in the USA. We have captured EVP's claiming to be from the 1500's from our Netherlands group) as well as newer spirits. Just because a building is new does not mean that it cannot be haunted! Most lands today hold a lot more history than you could ever imagine! 2) Remember that we come from a different time period than most spirits. They do not understand what we are doing with all our equipment and intentions. So take the time to explain to them what you are doing. This is very important. If you want to be trusted by them, give them a reason to trust you! And assuming they know will only disappoint you in the end. Remember, they are just like any new persons you meet on the street. Give them a chance to get to know you as well. Taking these extra steps will help you in the long run and you may get more than you would have without it. 3) Respect the spirits~ I know most of us are eager to see flying objects and such but understand that provoking is NOT the way to deal with spirits. You cannot fight what you cannot see! And especially if you are in a clients residence or business. You will not be there to pick up the pieces of the families who have to deal with the spirits when you leave! Especially those who chose to call their spirits demons and call in religious help. You are labeling a spirit as a demon at this point and they do not appreciate that! They feel like monsters already! This will only anger or make the spirit depressed and when it decides to retaliate....you better watch out! 4) Refrain from offering help.~ I would advice against saying that you are there to help. Especially if you don't want spirits following you home. I am an EVP researcher so they know I am trying to understand them because that is what I offer to them. Instead of saying you are there to help...say that you are there to try and understand what is going on with the spirits there. Help is like an open invitation and it will be taken as such. I used to say help a lot. Until I started finding those spirits in my home. They expect you to follow through on your words. So be careful and chose your words carefully. 5) Refrain from bad words. Spirits from the 1700-1800's did not speak like most speak today! Mind your manners! No matter how much you like to curse, spirits do not appreciate it one bit. It's disrespectful and hurts their feelings. They are not garbage and should never be treated as such! Would you like it if someone called your family names? Please refrain from doing so! 6) Bring gifts! If you are working with a female spirit...bring her some oil perfume like roses, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, etc. They appreciate stuff they no longer get to have. But they do have their sense of smell and will tell you what it is before you ever tell them. And it will show your kindness in remembering them. If it's male, bring some cards or a tobacco pipe. Even a cup of tea. They appreciate the gesture even though they cannot use them. They can still smell it. 7) Talk to them like you would anyone else. Tell them about our time period. Try and refrain from telling them what year it is. It does shock them and leave them confused if they are not prepared to know. I have seen this many times and always feel much regret after doing so. It's hard to hear them when they talk amongst each other in such disbelief and sadness. So please...be careful about this as well. 8) There is no need to trample all over graves at night in the dark and walking on their graves. If you call out to the spirits (usually you don't have to even do this). They will or have already come to you before you have even left the car. There's always the nosey spirits. And they are just as curious about what you are doing there at night as you are of finding one of them! You can set up in an open spot outside the cemetery. They will come. I know this now to be true as we have done many recordings outside different cemeteries. So please, respect them and stay out of the cemeteries at night. You can also record during the evening and daylight hours. Just do it at the quietest times with no wind. Or cloudy drizzly days. We have captured our best EVP's around water. It's worth a shot if it means respecting the dead. I) have given you the basics. I hope you can incorporate some our techniques into your work. The biggest part is to just treat them with the respect you would expect in return. We have built many friendships with spirits using these methods over the years. You play a big role as a counselor to spirits. Why not try and learn from them as well? They have much to offer us on our quest of understanding. Learn white noise EVP's and a much different world will open up to you. More to be added shortly. Please check back. |
| Page 2 of Understanding Spirits |