I have received another letter about paranormal concerns that I will respond to today. I have changed the name of the author of the letter, edited the content, corrected misspellings and typos a bit to protect that person’s identity. The tone of the note and the order of the questions is preserved to give the true flavor of the message.
I am sure other professionals will be able to offer comments to this post that are helpful to this seeker. This note is complex, presenting a number of questions and concerns. (I am not sure the author speaks English as a first language.) The concerns raised and the fears expressed in this email are not new to my practice. I publish this post hoping that others with similar concerns my benefit from my point of view on these matters.
“Hello am RJ and I have been looking for someone that could help me, although it has been hard. I am not sure if you could be the one that is able to help me find an answer to my problem.
I keep telling my self why me and why do I have spirits follow me? I am not sure if its one or two or how many, but thats not the reason I am writing.”
My comment: My first observation is that the author seems to express real concern about being followed by spirits, then declares that this is not the problem that prompts the letter. However, in the next few sentences, the author again lists paranormal experiences as well as episodes of pre-cognition.
“The real reason is that I have been through a lot in my life. I want to make a new beginning. My family has been tormented for so long.
I started to see demons, spirits and angels as a child but I have no way of understanding the visions. Throughout my life I would sometimes receive warnings about danger that helped me at that time. Other times I would just have visions of the future that do take place.”
As I have never spoken to the author of the note, I am not able to determine “state of mind.” I therefore do not intend to personally address the writer of the note in this post. As I do not know the true tone of voice of the message, it would be irresponsible of me to do so. Through my filters, a message like this one is written in a distressed tone of voice.
As the letter progresses, it seems clear that the author is in fact concerned with these visions, that these psychic experiences cause the author to feel different from others, to feel exhausted, like giving up, and ultimately “evil” for giving up (see below.)
“I try running away from it all. The problem with me is that even if i see good, evil follows me making my life miserable. Why does this happen? After everything I go through, at the end am fresh out of luck. After awhile I just gave up on my self.
My comment: It is often true that gifted people who see visions, whether those visions are of the future, the past, or spiritual beings, feel tormented. Many times, the gifted person has no control over when these kinds of experiences occur, no way to put them to good use, no one to talk to, and no frame of reference to make them feel OK, healthy or normal.
In American culture, clairvoyance has been radicalized.. that is to say, main stream media presents gifted people the option to be schizophrenic, possessed, evil, or rarely… very rarely, truly blessed with a spiritual gift. If we look to our history here in the USA, religious persecution of those who do practice faiths that allow for visions as a natural part of life has been the norm.
As mentioned in previous posts, it is my opinion that it is critical for the gifted person to have some emotional support, even if that is found in book. One of my first deep breaths in life happened when I read The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
by Carlos Castenada. There, in print, was a world view that most matched my own experience, my own understanding of the world as a fabulous, magical experience full of possibilities.
That book, and others like it, helped me to see the world differently, and my place in it as more real, or normal. There was no one person in my early life that offered me the same validation as I found in those pages.
A second concern raised in the previous notes from the seeker is that of being “cursed”, followed by evil no matter what. It is my observation that when any person is plagued by unwanted intrusions, they can come to feel powerless, victimized, helpless.. really without hope for change for the better. It can therefore be quite easy to relate visions with bad luck.
I don’t think the ability to see angels, visions, or spirits of any kind creates a direct link to bad luck, that one gift is the direct cause of either being “followed by evil” or of having an unlucky life. However, as the seeker notes below,
“There is something from the past that just haunts my family tree. I know this is true, but I don’t know why? I would like to know my past life or anything that could help me.”
My reply continues:This comment is really so important that I will explore it more fully in a later post. For today, the issue of cause and effect, or karmic consequence is raised. Many great masters have written many fine texts exploring karma… action – and consequence. I do not intend to write about that. I refer you instead to a bookstore full of great works worthy of your attention.
Whether my reply is limited only to the idea that we do co-create our future by our past actions, or that families can create destructive dynamics that have unfortunate results for the children raised therein.. I am certain that we can change our future. We can purify our misdeeds, mental afflictions and bad habits. We can make the decision to start our life over at any moment in time.
Regardless of what has happened before, the world is constantly coming. What we experience today is the out picturing of past action ( whether of body, speech or mind.)
I will save for later a discussion on the existence of sorcerers who are so powerful as to be able to curse a lineage of people and will only note that this kind of person is a rare soul indeed.
“I try so hard to do right and so hard to do good, but it does not work. Now I see my self just as evil as anyone else in the world because of giving up on myself. All I want is to pick my self up and to have the same rights as normal people. I don’t want to lose my self. Please, if your able to give me not salvation but comfort I could at least know why.”
My Comment: It is my hope that the information here will be a comfort to the author of this e-mail. It is my belief, and the belief of many peoples and cultures that we have all been here before. That the idea of a past life is a valid concept. That we do come together again and again to learn & grow, hopefully to help each other become the very best people we can be.
Can I answer in this post the “Why” of this souls experience? Of course not. In readings, it is possible to see more clearly the causes and conditions that bring people to their present moment in time. It is possible to see the past & to offer guidance on how best to proceed.
It is my hope that this seeker first find a path to follow, then find a reader for more guidance. I first suggest that the seeker turn to faith, a spiritual teacher, a guru, a priest of a recognized practice for the solace they need.
The Mystic's Point of View. 