Posts in category: Gifts

It’s almost Halloween—the time of year we bring forth all our scary darkness, the ghosts and goblins of our inner world. Scary movies flood the TV, and trick-or-treating youngsters (and their parents) learn the horrors of massive sugar ingestion.

Originally called All Hallow’s Eve, the holiday goes back to its pagan roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain, meaning summer’s end—a time to take stock and prepare for the cold months ahead, which were often associated with death. The souls of the dead were supposed to visit their former homes on Samhain eve, and people would wear costumes to ward off the roaming ghosts. Even carving that silly grin on your pumpkin comes from the Samhain custom of carving turnips into lanterns to remember the souls held in purgatory.

On Halloween, we feel safe in donning a mask of horror to cover up the usual mask we wear—our everyday faces, which could easily be masking a real monster inside. Think of various serial killers, like Ted Bundy, who looked like the nice guy next door.

But not all ghosts and goblins come out on Halloween. There are real life people who express the archetypes of monsters. Stephen King, in his first book, Carrie, portrayed the horrors of adolescence by making Carrie a teenager with a scary, uncontrollable monster side.  Stephen King has broken down monsters into three archetypes—the “thing without a name,” the vampire (a hugely popular monster these days), and the werewolf. He also alludes to a fourth archetype, the ghost.

Another way of looking at monster archetypes is to call them “things that should not be,” “things that devour us,” “things with two faces,” and “things that would not die.”

“Things that should not be” are the monsters that kill without remorse or pity. They can be mindless beasts or intelligent ones like Frankenstein. We think of these monsters as evil, as demons and devils. In our lives, this archetype can be applied to people we know who lack control over their lower instincts and who make the world a dangerous place for us. A sexual predator who molests a child is living out the monster archetype of a thing that should not be, and turns the world into a dangerous place for the child.

“Things that devour us,” like vampires, are like people who prey on us. We provide them with some sort of substance they need.  Zombies need to eat our brains or flesh, vampires need to suck our blood, and then there are parasites that devour us from the inside out, such as those in Alien. When you think of this archetype, think of people who invade your mind or soul, like a cult leader who needs your adulation and not your independent thinking.

“The thing with two faces” is the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or the werewolf. Both Dr. Jekyll and the werewolf hide their antisocial nature behind a more pleasant social façade. Many serial killers, like Jeffrey Dahlmer or Norman Bates, hide behind a socially-acceptable exterior. People who hold a lot of power, such as politicians or mob bosses, all are things with two faces. Are there people in your life who have been corrupted by power although they still present a kind face to the world?

“The thing that would not die” is the archetype of the ghost. Whether it’s simply an unhappy spirit that hasn’t finished its work on Earth, or a mean avenging banshee, the “thing that would not die” has not moved on to other planes, but sticks around to bring sorrow or death. You can have ghost-like hauntings of former lovers or others who hurt or betrayed you, and they linger in your thoughts and still bring up difficult emotions.

Take time this Halloween to look within and see if you are harboring any ghosts or goblins inside yourself. This can be far scarier than the witches and devils that may ring your doorbell. But be brave and see if you can root out any “monster”-type tendencies in your own make-up. Take off the mask you usually wear, and look at your own darkness. Accept it and release it. It’s the best preparation for the coming return of the light.

Have you ever been telepathic? I bet you have, but chances are you dismissed it as a fluke. Have you ever known who was going to be on the other end of the phone when it rang (and not because you saw the caller ID)? Or maybe you thought of someone you hadn’t talked to in a while, and they got in touch with you later that day or the next? Those are just two common examples of being telepathic that happen all the time. So-called twin telepathy is another example—one identical twin often knows what the other is thinking or feeling.

Whether you realize it or not, we all have the capacity to communicate with other people on other levels that have nothing to do with our five senses or the physical plane. That ability is just something we were all born with. Every once in a while, scientists will try to see if they can get any closer to understanding how telepathy works, but it’s still a mystery. Some parapsychologists believe the information is transmitted through extremely low-frequency electromagnetic waves, but not surprisingly, no one has been able to prove or disprove that idea. All we know for sure is that it does exist, and it seems to happen more often with some people than others.

So how can you tap into your telepathy and cultivate it to make that ability available for more useful things? Here are five tips to get you started:

1)   Stay as centered as possible. If your mind is always racing and you’re up for the multi-tasker of the year award, chances are you won’t be able to recognize subtle thoughts and impressions. Those little telepathic whispers won’t even be a blip on your radar screen. So build some quiet time into your day, whether you meditate, go for a walk by yourself (without electronic attachments), or even just push back from your desk and daydream. This sets up a fertile atmosphere for all kinds of energetic communication, including telepathy.

2)   Practice with your friends.  Start with something easy—numbers or colors. Pick something were there are only a handful of options. Have your friend think of a number or a color and see if you can sense what it is. Remember, this isn’t a guessing game. You’re trying to intuit the information. Be sure to keep this exercise light-hearted. Make it fun.

3)   Practice on your own. Sit in a public place like a café, a library, or a store and choose a person in the room. Imagine an energetic connection between the two of you, and try to sense it. Without staring at the person or otherwise trying to attract any attention, see if you can make a great enough connection with the person they change what they’re doing even momentarily. What you’re looking for can be as subtle as a glance in your direction—not a full-blown conversation with a stranger.

4)   Don’t beat yourself up. Chances are, you won’t get a ton of hits right away. And that’s OK. As the saying goes, where attention goes, energy flows. So the more you try to tune in to your telepathy, the more you will be able to recognize it.  But if you get frustrated and think you’re a failure at it, you will be chasing it away. That isn’t a punishment, by the way, it’s just one of those universal laws. Negativity closes down your channels. So if you start feeling frustrated with your attempts, just put the idea aside for the time being. You can come back to it later when you’re feeling more positive.

5)   Use it only for good. Never use telepathy or any other psychic or paranormal ability to try to control others or change their behavior in a manipulative way. It’s one thing to try an exercise to see if you can get someone to glance your way, but it’s another to attempt to intrude into their private thoughts or try to get them to change their will about something—especially if it isn’t in their best interest.

So try out these tips, and remember to have fun with the process. Maybe even keep a record of your successes so you’ll be encouraged to keep trying. As you grow and mature on a spiritual level, you will have access to more and more abilities like telepathy. The more such abilities you stay open to, the more will come your way. Go to my Facebook page and let me know how you’re doing!

Have you ever been cruising along in your life, basically happy, when you’re suddenly overcome by a wave of fatigue or feel like you’re crashing into depression? You may have been hit by a negative energy from outside yourself. Someone, either consciously or unconsciously, psychically attacked you. And since you have a “shadow side” of your own, you let in whatever came your way.