For over a week last month my laptop went down. Of course, it was at the most inopportune time (as if there is a good time for this to happen).
By Rebecca Nidey
Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House
The darn thing managed to play possum just before the deadline for columns to be submitted for the May issue of Bellesprit Magazine. For the first time in several years I was not able to communicate my thoughts to the readers of Bellesprit.
Since I am a bit of a loner, my first thoughts were ‘Wow, quiet time to get my chores caught up and have some down time to recharge’. There would be no Facebook, Skype, e-mails, or internet to eat into my time! Then I realized that my major way of interaction with those I care about and who were at a distance was effectively cut off.
As the time passed before the glitch in my laptop system was repaired I became more and more isolated and more and more frustrated. How could I check on the welfare and life events of my friends and family? How would they be able to check on me?
One of the side effects or blessings (not sure which it was) was that I did have more time to think. Having been a paranormal investigator for over a decade, one of the comparisons I had to draw was that I had, in essence, become a ghost. Unseen, unheard, and hopefully missed by those who hold me in affection… I might as well have been in the spirit realm.
Many people I have come in contact with believe that each of us has burning within us a certain spiritual DNA that makes us one of a kind. If you are one of those people that believe something of that special spark that makes us our own unique person lives on, I want to ask something of you. Would you stretch your imagination and put yourself into the shoes of someone who passed from body into spirit?
One day you are alive and interacting with those around you and then you ‘wake up dead!’ In essence, you have become the invisible man or woman. Not only that, when you try to get the attention of those surrounding you by speaking to them, you are ignored. Is it any wonder that the frustration builds?
Since there are, in my belief, some people who can see and hear spirits, imagine the surprise, shock and elation of those ghosts when it becomes apparent that once again they are noticed. Even if they cannot be seen with the naked eye or heard with the ear, those in the paranormal community know how to communicate. By using equipment such as a ghost box or digital recorder to do an EVP session, the spirits may be able to communicate once again. They have become ‘alive’ anew. Even without the technical gear, communication can be made with a simple “knock once for yes and twice for no” request to a question. Respect and caring go a long way in talking to anyone, whether alive in body or only in spirit.
As is normal with different individuals, someone who has not spoken for a while may react by communicating in a rush of words… or say only one or two words that jump into their thoughts immediately. In the confusion created by their death, they may express the belief they are still alive, question where they are, or ask for any other detail that will help them figure out what is going on. Of course, the most common word we hear is “help”…that most heartrending of all requests, whether from someone alive or dead. Since time does not seem relevant to a ghostly spirit, they may even ask where those they cared about are, not realizing they may be long dead. Concern for those they cared about does not die with their bodies but lives on just as their spirits do. This is perhaps another reason that spirits choose to linger.
The frustration of being ignored might cause a spirit to act out either verbally or in action, using the energy generated by that anxiety to create a commotion. If the live persons interacting with the dead remind them of someone they have known, the words can be sweet as the loving feelings remembered or as disturbing as the fear and horror involved in their life and death. Then again, there are the dead who were nasty in life and continue to be after their passing. Their communications can be as acid as they were when they passed through their lips in life.
Those that were shy in life may react in death in the same manner. For whatever reason they were so timid, they might be wary of communication of any kind or only respond to those who make them feel at ease. Once again, a respectful and compassionate manner goes a long way with anyone, alive or dead.
When I regained the use of my laptop I had quite a bit of communication to catch up on. There were pictures to view, emails to read, people to ‘speak’ to once again. It made me wonder if I had been missed. Some whom I spoke to did mention some concern for my missing in action status. Others did not even recognize that I had not been around for a while. While I was incommunicado, I had felt an uneasiness for the bits and pieces of lives of my loved ones that I had not witnessed during that short time span.
As always, I have a challenge for those of you who are reading my column. Please make an effort to continue to connect with those you care about while they can still easily communicate in return. Part of my inspiration for this column was the fact that in the past two weeks there have been a fairly large number of people who have touched my life who have passed from body into spirit. Although there is a possibility that I may still be able to converse with them through unconventional means, the fact that I will not be able to look them in the eye and give them a goodbye hug will bring some tears in the future when memories of them come to mind.
One of my favorite songs has always been The Sound of Silence, a song written by Paul Simon and first sang by him and his duet partner, Art Garfunkel.
Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk to you again
Because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping……..
In the naked light I saw ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening……
And no one dare disturb the sound of silence.
Dare to care enough to disturb the sound of silence, whether it is with someone you care for or someone you see in passing. Kind words give comfort to both the giver and receiver, the living and the dead. Thank you for taking the time to read my column.
About the Author:
Through her work on the investigative team for the Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters, Rebecca Nidey has an understanding of the paranormal, spiritual, and metaphysical worlds and how they work together.
Rebecca has trained in the Healing Touch technique (a form of energy healing). She is a certified Psychic Medium trained by Belle Salisbury, and she is a certified Paranormal Researcher.
Rebecca is the associate editor for Bellesprit Magazine and also writes a column titled Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House. She has been a co-host of several radio programs for the Haunted Voices Radio Network and HeyZ Radio Network highlighting the Paranormal, metaphysical and literary fields.
To learn more about Rebecca or to schedule a reading you can contact her at https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.nidey.
