Ghosts And Reincarnation: Making sense of the life/death cycle

"Life is a journey.
Death is a return to earth.
The universe is like an inn.
The passing years are like dust.

Regard this phantom world
As a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp - a phantom - and a dream."
The Buddha

A while ago I wrote an article titled Near Death Experiences-What Happens After We Die? In it I described the “for and against” if you like of what happens after we die. I described both sides of the argument and each one made perfect sense. I tried not to disclose my opinion on the subject in order to allow the reader to make his or her mind up.

I have often been asked what do I believe and I have always replied with certainty that, “of course there is life after death” and I would describe what I knew to be the answer; that we all may have lived several lives and may return to the Earth Plane again and again after we pass. I have argued with “non believers” and stood my ground on what I supposed was true and would not hear anything different other than my own view, that is until I began researching for “Near Death Experiences” (NDE) and the way opened up for another way of thinking. After talking with Dr John Happs president of "Western Australian Skeptics" I realised that his estimation made a lot of sense and I began to wonder, “What if he is right? What if there is nothing after you die?” That is a depressing suggestion to say the least, but it is incomprehensible to me that the essence of a person can just cease to exist.

Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) had the ability to leave his body and travel into the after life. He has astonished people from all over the globe with tales of his experiences. He had the ability to experience regular NDEs and developed the ability of being able to diagnose and treat sick individuals from a distance by astral travelling.

Christian beliefs are that once the body is no longer alive the soul faces judgement and is directed either into Heaven or to suffer forever in Hell.

Buddhists accept as true that whatever happens to the soul after the body dies is related to how the individual lived his or her life. Karma comes into play in regards to determining what life the spirit will be reborn into. They believe in the concept of reincarnation.

According to The Government Of Tibet In Exile His Holiness the Dalai Lama was born in 1935 and was acknowledged when he was around two years old to be the reincarnation of 13th Dalai Lama, his forerunner.

Reincarnation is the acquisition of a new body when the old one dies and therefore beginning a new life without any conscious recollection of the previous one. It has been quoted that the Buddha compared this process to the lighting of a new candle with the flame of the old one thus keeping the flame lit independent of the original source. This course of action is known as "transmigration.” The idea is to learn through each life and eventually achieve the wisdom of “Nirvana”, the state of freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth.

The basic assumption is the life is suffering and you will never achieve complete peace on earth based on material pleasure. The only road to complete peace is to follow Buddha and detach one’s self from all worldly attachments. Over time the ego will dwindle and eventually over time Nirvana will be reached.

There are spirits who have been through many lifetimes and have come to true understanding and do not physically reincarnate on the earth plane in order to help others are called "Bodhisattva". They exist in a Bodhisattva realm and are comparable to Christian Saints and people pray to them for assistance.

Buddhists believe that what we call soul or spirit, the “mindstream" lives on from one life to the next until Nirvana is reached. The cycle of rebirth is called “Samsara” and this is where Bodhisattva remains out of compassion for other’s quest for enlightenment.

So regardless of your convictions a lot of us are comfortable with the idea that we are all inherent spirits and we are much more than our physical bodies.
There are endless reports of ghost sightings and many theories in regards to this.

According to Wikipedia encyclopaedia, “A ghost is the apparition of a deceased person, frequently similar in appearance to that person, and usually encountered in places she or he frequented, the place of his or her death, or in association with the person's former belongings.”

It is often said that ghosts are spirits of people who have some kind of unfinished business on earth and refuse to leave our realm until the situation is resolved, which makes me wonder; wouldn’t the majority of us have unfinished business to take care of upon our demise? It is my view that unless you are in a situation where you had an inkling of the time of your death, such as terminal illness when you would have time to “prepare” for our final exit and tie up all loose ends you would have things that you still need to do even though your life may be over. There are numerous tales of ghosts residing in buildings here on Earth and refusing to cross over.

The McPike Mansion for example has been named as one of the most haunted houses in small town America. Built on Alby Street in the town of Alton in 1869 for Henry Guest McPike a wealthy and prominent citizen the mansion has been featured in numerous books and television shows because of supernatural activity and bizarre encounters.

The McPike family sold the home around 1936 to Paul Laichinger who resided there and put many of the rooms out for rent so many tenants came and went until 1945 when Mr Laichinger died. It is at this time that mysterious encounters began to be recorded. Apparently many of the documented occurrences may have been the ghost of Mr. Laichinger and his many tenants.

Unexplained phenomena includes the sound of children laughing and apparitions moving about the house; one of which has been named Sarah who was believed to have been a servant who resided in the mansion. She has been reported as a gentle wandering spirit who would leave living residents and visitors with a feeling of being hugged or touched. There have been reports of Paul Laichinger’s image peering through windows and has been seen doing chores around the place as he did when he was living and it is rumoured that the ghost of a lady who once drowned in one of the bathtubs in 1869 is quite active.

In 1999 Dr Rene Horath and a group of fellow researchers arrived at McPike to film paranormal activity in a basement using infrared equipment as there are no windows therefore no sunlight in the room. A thick mist which, according to Dr Horath felt like feathers brushing against her engulfed what was once the wine cellar. Renee claimed her body felt electric. The theory that the mist may have been caused by humidity was dismissed as there was no condensation on the camera lenses and could not be felt on the skin. The mist appeared to have a will of its own moving around and changing direction and eventually vanished as quickly as it materialized.

I wonder if we will ever have a plausible explanation that will answer the one question we all have in common, what happens after we die?

It makes a great deal of sense and rings true for me that when our body dies it is not the end and I have had the feeling on many occasions that I have been here before this life and I recalled that sentiment very strongly when I was a child although back then I had no real interest in spirituality or a particularly religious upbringing.

I like the notion that the Earth life is a journey. A journey of lessons in suffering and love and when this journey is over we will move on to another plane where we may reminisce about out past earthly experiences and decide from there what lessons we may need to repeat or how we will settle our own Karmic debt.

Is it as simple as that I wonder? I hope so.


Here is the link to a video called Ghosts On Tape; it includes The McPike Mansion mist incident. Fascinating stuff!
Ghosts On Tape

For those who are really curios about the Paranormal this is the link to Ghost Photographs where you will find a list of ghost pictures deemed fake and otherwise.

You can visit The McPike Mansion site for more information.

The Shadow People and Waverley Hills – Real or Imagined?

I was checking out YouTube the other day and wandered into the spooky section of ghost videos. Some are quite ridiculously fake, others, who knows. I also came across several referring to the “Shadow People” and this intrigued me so I decided to do some research and find out what or who these entities are.

Wikipedia describes them as “shadow-like creatures of both modern folklore and traditional native American beliefs.”

They appear as dark, shadow like forms. People have reported spotting them as fleeting shapes out of the corner of their eye and these reports are becoming more frequent around the world. They are also known as Shadow Men, Shadow Folk, Shadow Beings and, Schattenwesen [shah-ten-ves-en].

It is said that these entities can move between walls and disintegrate at will. Witnesses have claimed that these apparitions do not emanate a sense of goodwill and in some cases have chased and menaced their victim. Unlike ghosts it appears that “Shadow People” do not have human characteristics although their shape is of a person.

It sounds like a figment of the imagination and I know that would be my first thought if I were to experience one of these visions. There are some that assert that the creatures have red eyes and they move very quickly. They are the talk of the town in paranormal chat rooms and the like.

Skeptics will most definitely blame the sightings to a too vivid imagination for sure. I have not had an encounter and I admit for that I am grateful, because it sounds like these anomalies tend to leave people with a nasty sense of dread.

They have been called demons or it has been said that it is Satan showing himself. If this is the case one has to wonder why? What purpose would the Devil have in scaring humans in this way? Perhaps he takes morbid pleasure in it. We’ll never know. I guess if he was a nice guy he would not be the Devil.

Could the shadow people be the remnants of people’s spirit who are astral travelling or dreaming? Jerry Gross is an out-of-body teacher and claims he has the ability to move outside of his body, “I go to the astral plane and communicate with my teachers, I visit other places and other dimensions, and I visit my loved ones who have left the earth plane. There are many things you can do once you develop this skill.” Jerry claims that dreaming is a form of astral drifting.

Aliens have also being held responsible for the appearance of shadow people.

Peter L. Martinez the author of “A Step Into The Light” (The Awakening Guide For The Children Of The Light)” has a different view. He says, “all ‘black matter’ created by individuals and humanity would now be released and seen during the earth changes and rising frequency of the planet. That the planet goes through these cycles of restoration every so many thousands of years, all within smaller cycles of learning for the benefit of a humanity. In my personal opinion and experience, Shadow People & Shadow Things consists of Mental & Emotional energy, and with scientific principles can be explained and transcended within the laws of “higher light physics” and “quantum physics.”

Heidi Hollis is the author of the first book ever to be written on “Shadow People” called “The Secret War”. She has posted a video interview on YouTube with a young lady who claims she saw a black shadowy figure Heidi has named the “hat man”. The young woman in question said she saw an apparition when she was around five years old and living in Hawaii. She was sitting on her bed and the shadowy figure walked across the bedroom door. The figure was unrecognizable and by its hazy shape it appeared to be wearing a hat. Heidi claims that this phenomenon has occurred all over the world and speculation has it that this may well be the Devil. As to why he shows himself to certain people is unknown as the persons involved are not necessarily bad natured or evil.

This is the link to Heidi’s interview:
Hat Man Encounter

Although many have stated that these beings have no human characteristics there are still claims that the “Shadow People” may be spirits of people who have not moved on and have remained within the earth realm. These souls may have a reason for being “stuck” here and not following the path to the “Light” such as not realizing that they have died or unresolved issues such as unfinished business on earth or fear of evolving to a different plane and are possibly in need of assistance to make the transition toward the “Light’.

Waverley Hills Sanatorium is a renowned “haunted’ institution. It was a school house to begin around 1883 owned by Major Thomas H Hayes.
It opened its doors around 1910 to treat tuberculosis patients. It cared for only a small number of patients and was later renovated to cater for over 400 around 1926. In 1961 it closed its doors to tuberculosis victims and cared only for geriatric patients until its final closure in 1982 due to allegations of patient abuse by the state of Kentucky. An estimated 63,000 folks have passed away there, although I am of the opinion that this number is too high.

Room 502 is on the fifth floor and it is rumored to be the most haunted in the hospital. A nurse hanged herself in that room in 1928 and 15 years later another nurse jumped from the balcony to her death. Yet another was allegedly murdered by a disturbed patient. These tragedies have all supposedly occurred in room 502, although to date there is no tangible proof.

Another haunted area is the “death tunnel”, the area where bodies of dead patients were placed to slide to the bottom of a chute. From here they were collected and transported to the crematorium.

The “drainage room” is yet another room where, as legend has it, bodies were cut open, hung on meat hooks and left to drain of all fluid before being sent to the crematorium; this was done because of fear of contamination. The actual building plans state the room was designed for electrical use, which I hope was in fact the case.

The building has had subsequent owners since the hospital closure. One had in mind a plan to erect the world’s largest statue of Jesus Christ hence the removal of all adjoining buildings leaving only the main hospital. I don’t know whether this was unfortunate but his plans failed and the statue was never built.

There have been various reports of paranormal activity apparitions, from children crying, voices and the infamous “Shadow People”.

This is the link to a video on you tube which depicts a “Shadow People” investigation at Waverley Hills Sanatorium Shadow people of Waverly Hills

There are some who deny the fact that Waverly Hills is haunted at all and assert that the footage is a hoax.

If you would like a tour of Waverly Hills Asylum as it is today here it is:
Ghosts, Waverly Hills Asylum

I have not ever been there but quite frankly it gives me the creeps and the energy emanating from the place feels to me like a very sad one.

Do “Shadow People” really exists or are they just imagined? Is Waverley Hills really haunted or just a creepy place to visit? Could the Devil be manifesting himself around us?

These are very fascinating questions. I would say that chances are that facts have probably been greatly exaggerated over the years but, speaking for myself, my mind is always open and I will not dismiss that there is more than meets the eye to our existence.

Check out “Waverly Hills Sanatorium “by Bobette Bryan for more info at Waverly Hills

More on the Waverley Hills sightings on Ghost Hunters Waverly Sanatorium Reveal

Recommended reading:

“Fear: A Ghost Hunter’s Story” by Kriss Stephen

“The Secret War” by Heidi Hollis

“Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills Sanatorium” by Christopher Saint Booth

“Shadow People-Spectators or Participants?” by Louis Poessel

Urban Legends and Ghostly Myths

There are a lot of ghost stories out there. Some are old, some are new and some are mere legends. There are videos and photographs of spirit sightings too, although I admit I am not always convinced of their legitimacy. Having said that I must confess that I find any tale pertaining to the supernatural fascinating and I read each one I come across with the hope that this may be the one that contains the answer to life’s biggest mystery; what happens after death. Have you ever seen a ghost?

Some say that although they have never ‘seen’ a spirit they have felt its presence. I read a comment on a forum from a person who considered looking into a mirror a paranormal experience. This individual used to stare at his or her own reflection and wonder if “Is it me looking at my reflection...Or is my reflection looking at me?”

There are superstitions that entail mirrors being used as portals to the “other side”. The “Bloody Mary” is an urban legend from Pennsylvania. It is quite scary; I’m not sure I’d want to try this.

It was originally a children’s game consisting of summoning an evil witch like spirit. The idea is to light a candle stand in front of a mirror and call out Bloody Mary thirteen times. Taking part in this game would command the horrifying witch to appear and commit dreadful acts such as scratching the caller’s eyes out and clawing the face or worse causing the person to drop dead or disappear into the mirror for eternity. There are variations to these games but the end results sound pretty terrifying.

The history behind the Bloody Mary legend is said to have originated around 100 years ago. A witch apparently dabbled in black magic and was eventually executed for her sins and her disturbed spirit is still haunting people in this weird fashion. I have also heard and read about different variants to the origin of this spooky tale like the one being about a barren woman who suffered a couple of phantom pregnancies and her bitter spirit reacts to the chant” I stole your baby” which is also performed in front of a mirror. It is mentioned in places that the name Bloody Mary was taken from Queen Mary Tudor who reigned in England (r.1553-1558), who was also known as Bloody Mary, although the game has nothing to do with Queen Mary I.

A more modern story is that of young John Smith of Plainfield, Wisconsin who opened up his inbox one day in November 2007 and read an email from two girls who claimed to be his sisters named Lisa and Sarah; they signed the email “Smith sisters”. John was quite puzzled by this because as far as he knew he was an only child. John replied to the email and told the sender to go away because he did not have any sisters. A second email arrived and it enticed him to check his bedroom closet, where he found “Lisa and Sarah - 1993″ scratched on the floor. The girls described living in the same house and sleeping in what was now his bedroom and asked him to open an attachment to the email which was an old newspaper clipping stating that two sisters Lisa 19 and Sarah 15 had been brutally murdered in their home in November 1993 and their bodies were found in the bedroom closet. They had been skinned alive.

It is unknown what happened next but John was found the next day by his parents in his closet and like his siblings had been skinned alive! This story was pieced together by what was found on his computer and by the carvings inside the closet which now included “John 2007” underneath his sisters’ names.

John’s parents had declined to tell him that he had not been the only child in the family due to the horrific circumstances in which they had lost their two girls 14 years earlier and the Police had no clues to the murderer. The case was eventually closed in 2000.This story has been used in bogus chain letters sent to kids threatening that their parents would kill them if they didn’t pass it on. Pretty sick stuff.

Another interesting tale is about the cast from the film “Poltergeist” which was beset by problems. There have been three “Poltergeist” films and deaths have occurred around them. Dominique Dunne, 22 who played Dana Freeling in the first film died after an attack from her boyfriend who choked her into a coma. A friend inside Dunne's house allegedly turned up the Poltergeist soundtrack to drown out the noise Dana and her boyfriend were making fighting outside.

12-year-old Heather O'Rourke who played Carol Anne Freeling died of septic shock on February 1st. 1988 after undergoing surgery to remove a bowel obstruction. She was in a commercial with actress Judith Barsi who also died 5 months after Heather’s demise at the age of 10. She and her mother were murdered by her father.

Wicked preacher Kane was played by Julian Beck in the second film and he died of cancer in 1985. He passed away during the time between filming and release.

Will Sampson played Taylor in the second film and he died in 1987 from post operative complications after receiving a heart-lung transplant.

Director of Poltergeist II, Brian Gibson, also died of bone cancer at the age of 59 in 2004.

These deaths have been related to a curse attached to the movie. One rumor claims that some of the props used in the movie were real human skeletal remains, which as you can imagine would not impress the spirits.

The house used for exterior shots was damaged by an earthquake in 1984. One of the stars claimed that each day she would turn up on set, straighten pictures hanging crookedly on the wall only to find them askew again the following day.

Actor Will Sampson was an Indian Sharman and he performed an exorcism on the set of Poltergeist II to eliminate evil spirits and as we know he died a year later.

Oliver Robins who played Robbie Freeling was injured when choked by a toy clown in his room due to a prop malfunction.

A photograph of co-star Zelda Rubenstein had shining light through her face and she claims that the picture was taken at the moment of her mother’s death.

Part of the movie set, a parking garage was demolished by flames during a fire scene injuring one crew member.

“Smith Sisters” and “Poltergeist are accounts that we all have probably heard about at one time or another. The Internet is one place that is inundated by such tales and chances are whatever truth lay in these stories more than likely has been embellished over the years, they have been labeled urban legends but they are still quite chilling all the same.

“Bloody Mary” I would be inclined to classify as a myth although you won’t be seeing me in front of a mirror chanting her name any time soon!

Myths are generally long established tales which involve supernatural beings and occurrences that defy logic and legends are typically stories that have been passed on but have not been validated with any proof and probably exaggerated with time.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has an interesting legend to share or better still has had a supernatural experience or knows someone who has.

I would like to create an entire article based on experiences that people have been willing to share with me so if you know of anything weird and spooky let me know!

In the meantime…sleep well, my pretty……

Seeing Ghosts

Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there I did not die" Attributed to Mary E Frye 1932"

“George W. Bush, the U.S. President, is prone to bouts of crying caused by the stress of his job and claims to have seen ghosts emerge from the Lincoln bedroom in The White House, according to a new book on his Presidency.” (Sheldon Alberts, “The Ottawa Citizen” published: Wednesday, September 05, 2007)

I love the idea of ghosts and the thought that someone I once loved is not gone forever, but can still see me and be with me. I will never be lonely with the knowledge that someone dear is always nearby.

There are many tales of spirits, hauntings and visions such as the story of Karen on the website "About.Com"(paranormal.about.com):

As Karen attempted to cross the street while walking home one night, she felt a strong hand grip her shoulder, "This hand not only pulled me back on to the sidewalk," Karen says, "but was strong enough to land me on my posterior on the sidewalk. When I glanced around me, I caught a glimpse of a light blue, periwinkle-colored dress with tiny white flowers." The grip was strong enough to cause her to fall on the sidewalk and, at that moment she saw a car whizzing around the corner at a dangerous speed. Whoever had grabbed Karen clearly saved her life, but as she looked around she did not see any body there. She returned home and told her mother what had happened. As she described the periwinkle dress her mother amazed her by telling her that her grandmother indeed did have such a favorite dress with white flowers. Karen had never known her maternal grandmother as she had died when her own mum was just a child. She had been convinced that night that her Gran's spirit saved her life.

Sir William Barrett, a Professor of Physics at the Royal College of Science in Dublin published a book in 1926 called "Death Bed Visions". He discovered during his research that children often claimed angels had appeared by their sick bed. Many of these children thought the angels were still living, but it was generally discovered later that these were visions of people who already died. The angels as they were described by the kids did not have wings, which poses the question, if these were just an imaginary illusion why wouldn't a child see the angels as described in literature and depicted in art, that is with large white wings? According to the “Journal of the Society for Psychic Research”, there have been documented cases of apparitions being witnessed by other people standing in a dying person's room.

Another interesting anecdote is the one of "Katie King" channeled by London born Miss Florence Cook (1856-1904). She materialized in 1872 during a séance as a death like face amongst curtains and within a year perfected her "visits". She would wonder around the house and would even sleep with her medium. When Miss Cooke married, the situation became a little complicated, as you would imagine.

As a child I had an imaginary friend. Every one would smile and comment on how cute it was, but to me "Maureen" was real. She was a Mum who talked to me and gave me the attention my own mother was not always able to provide.

Carole Lynne is a medium. She has done many readings around the globe, has been interviewed by ABC World News, The Boston Globe, and Fox TV. "I believe that many of these so called imaginary friends are spirits. In our culture, the only way little children can get away with playing with their spiritual friends, is to learn from the culture that these are "imagined friends." It is easy for children to see spirit, but we teach them that they are making it up and so most people lose the ability to see" she says.

At around age four, I used to sit at and stare at my hand for hours. I would think, "Is this my body now?" I had no knowledge or interest in spiritual matters back then. Have I been here before? Those who believe in reincarnation would attest to this.

There has been ample research done on what happens after we die but, let's face it we are not really going to find out until it happens to us. Having said this there are accounts and, in some cases photographic evidence, of some kind of ethereal presence in different places and at different times.

One day, while sitting on my couch feeling deeply upset about something I sensed someone sit next to me and I caught a glimpse of a man dressed in an old fashioned house coat. I had never seen him before and he did not resemble anyone I knew. It was a very peculiar albeit peaceful sensation to have this individual materialize in my lounge room. I somehow knew he was not there to harm me.

Carole Lynne says,” When the world of spirit needed to let me know that I was a medium, I had incredible experiences: saw spirits, had spiritual dreams and waking visions. This was the way that spirit knocked on my door. It took me a while to get used to the idea that I was seeing spirits. I became very emotional about it, but ultimately accepted that if I had been given this gift, I needed to use it and do readings for people."

If spirits are among us, what are they doing here? "Most of the spirits I communicate with seem to find it easy to be with their loved ones who are still living in physical bodies, and within their own spiritual realm: all at the same time. This leads me to believe that what we call "the spirit world" may be another realm that interpenetrates our reality...” claims Carole Lynne. What about haunted places?

Francis Bevan is a clairvoyant from Australia, who also works as a medium,
"These spirits are often earth bound and don't realize that they need to cross over to the other side. They exist like this when their souls are not prepared to leave the earth plane this often happens in cases of suicides and sudden deaths."

There are six ways one can make contact with a life force from beyond:

Clairaudience-channeling messages through hearing.
Clairvoyance-this is the ability to see the energy.
Clairsentience-emotionally feel what is being communicated.
Clairalience-channeling by means of smell.
Claircognizance-the ability to "know", a form of ESP.
Clairgustance- experiencing spiritual matter through taste without putting anything in one's mouth.

"Spirits often appear to me as they have messages to deliver either to myself or my clients. I sometimes only get a sense of the spirits personality or hear clairaudiently the messages they have to deliver. Other times I see them as clearly as I do the living but they always have an aura or a bright light around them. The situation is not frightening as I have never encountered a spirit who as wished to harm myself or anybody else" says Francis.

Francis claims that spirits are indeed around us but cannot always assist us, "They can also see the outcomes of our actions but can do nothing to prevent us from making mistakes as we must learn our own lessons."

Where is it that these entities are supposed to go? The white light has been what a lot of people, who have experienced NDES (near death experiences) have been drawn to.” For me, light is truth, and so when a person is passing over, they begin to see the true reality of creation: light," says Carole Lynne.

I am still trying to bring my old fashioned gentleman back and I wish I could communicate with him this time.
Carole Lynne believes in an open mind," Most people can see visions of their loved ones by opening their hearts and their minds. If they allow themselves to be intimidated by skeptical relatives, it will harder for them to be open to seeing spirit."

Francis uses his psychic gifts to attune to spirits, "Once we start to learn to still our minds and allow our ESP and intuition to work it opens up a whole new spectrum of possibilities for us. For anybody who wants to learn how to do this I run courses and I have also written a book".

As far as the above-mentioned Miss Cook, some say that she was a fraud, but each researcher left very sketchy evidence to their findings. It is not certain whether the mysterious entity Katie King has ever existed on earth, but she has allegedly appeared in séances in 1903 in Canada and 1974 in Rome.
I sure would love to meet her!

Recommended reading guide:

One Last Hug Before I Go: The Mystery and Meaning of Death Bed Visions, by Carla Wills-Brandon

The Book Of Psychic Development, by Francis Bevan Francis Bevan

How To Get a Good Reading, by Carole Lynne Carole Lynne

Heart and Sound, by Carole Lynne

Consult Your Inner Psychic, by Carole Lynne


The Spiritual Eye - The Third Eye