When Spooks Come Knocking

When was the last time you got really scared? It’s wonderful how paranormal events and observations put us in touch with our spiritual natures.

Some people think of me as a ghost chaser or ghost hunter, but, in fact, it’s usually the other way around. Earthbound spirits and other non-physicals find me.

They tug on my sleeve, touch my shoulder, brush across my hair, and wake me up in the middle of the night to get my attention. And it’s not because I’ve got a sign on my back that reads “I see dead people.”

Thank God I rarely see dead people in the spooky, newly-murdered-gooey-gross or  cemetery-freeze-dried forms popularized by horror films. Instead I see people who look anxious, sometimes upset and concerned. They just want to communicate with another person. They find me because I happen to walk into their environment and the energy around me speaks volumes. It tells non-physical beings that I am a sensitive, energy-reading intuitive. And that information prompts them to nudge me, knock on my door, and talk to me.

When I was young, this ability scared the heck out of me. I tried to ignore it, deny it, suppress it, defy it – you name it, but my intuitive nature didn’t go away. It got bigger. At some point, one simply has to bow to the absurdities of life and acknowledge their paranormal aspects. So I started talking to non-physical beings and trying to understand what they wanted. As a writer, I processed my experiences by writing about earthbound spirits and other non-physical beings I encountered. When I did, life and death began to make sense.

I learned that I could ask for help from God or angels and receive comfort and guidance when I got scared. I found that I could define boundaries and, essentially, set my hours for interacting with non-physical beings. For awhile, I hung out a shingle that read “The Intuitive is In.” Many people made use of it – both physical and non-physical.

These days, I stick to doing what I do best: writing about things that interest and inspire me. I write about my paranormal experiences and those of others in an effort to build bridges between this world and the multi-dimensional universe, which is to say the next place we travel to – at least some of us – when we die.

October is the ideal time to reflect on the paranormal and our endless fascination with it. It’s that time of year when we, as a society, buck up, don our Halloween masks, watch spooky movies, and find the humor in “Boo!”

After all, according to some scientists, two-thirds of all people believe in the paranormal and things that go bump in the night. How can you not believe in something that is so pervasive and self-evident? The non-physical universe intersects our little corner of the galaxy night and day, and almost everyone has had an unexplainable spooky experience.

For the two-thirds of you who do believe in ghosts, I hope you’ll read my book Cassandra’s Field Guide to Ghostly Encounters. A true field guide, it teaches you the basics of living with ghosts, how to clear spirits from homes or offices, and how to make the most of a good haunting. Plus, you’ll find pictures of ghostly visitors and see how energy beings show up on Earth in photos taken by me, Jim Venis and some of our friends. Best of all, the e-book is on-sale during October for less than the cost of a cup of coffee!

So take comfort in the fact that the scariest month of the year is when we give ourselves permission to explore and enjoy the unknown. We allow the visitation of colorful strangers on Halloween and enjoy the company of friends at costumed gatherings.

Just don’t be surprised if some of the people who whisper in your ear or knock on your door aren’t anywhere to be seen this Halloween. Be tolerant, be kind and remember, ghosts are people, too.

Jalynn Venis is an author, video producer and intuitive explorer. After living in four haunted houses and having many encounters with the spirit world, she wrote Cassandra’s Field Guide to Ghostly Encounters, now on sale on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites.

Copyright © 2013 Jalynn Venis. All rights reserved.