Spirits: That's The Spirit!

By Roger S. Pile Ph.D.

Spirits, as we all well know, can be intoxicating, exhilarating, mystifying, prankish or terrifying. The term "spirit" means different things to different people at different times. So what is "spirit?"

When I use the term "spirit" here, I refer strictly to ghosts and the spirit world, to the life beyond death. Ghosts have been with us since our earliest recorded times. In the Old Testament, did not Saul seek out the Witch of Endor to call forth the ghost of Samuel? Emanuel Swedenborg, a highly respected scientist and theologian of the eighteenth century, wrote extensively about spirits and the spirit world. Naturally, his writings were condemned as "heretical."

Well then, what ARE ghosts or spirits? What are they like? Are they like us? Do they have shapes? Bodies? Can they see? Hear? What do they do? What can they do? What sort of lives do they live? Do they just float around? Can they be harmful?

These are just some of the questions I am continually asked when people learn that I work with ghosts, or "earth-bounds" as I call them, and their psychological problems. Yes, ghosts DO have psychological problems, just like you and I do. After all, they were once in the flesh, just like you and I are now.

Even though we all think we know what ghosts are, do we really? I can remember as a young boy camping and sitting around the fire swapping "ghost stories," and each storyteller hoping to out scare the others. Ghosts were scary, and did scary things. Of course, I didn't believe in ghosts. I didn't believe in going past graveyards as fast as I could either, but that didn't slow me down!

Ghosts are usually conceptualized as things that go "bump" in the night, or monsters that walk around without heads. They are said to float up and down stairs as apparitions (and tourist attractions). It is said that ghosts moan and rattle chains and so forth. We have a lot of misconceptions about ghosts and what they really are. In the twelve years I have worked with ghosts, I have come to regard them with affection and sympathy. This is true even of the more negative entities, for they are truly "lost souls."

We call them lost souls because they are earthbound. Yes, this means BOUND TO THE EARTH PLANE; they are living in limbo, so to speak. The normal procedure when death occurs is for the spirit to leave the body and "pass over" into the spirit realms. (Some visualize or call these dimensions "heaven.") If you remember your Greek mythology, the terrible Charon used to ferry the "dead" across the river Styx to the underworld.

There is a vibration gap that must be transited. Fortunately, there has been a great accumulation of knowledge about the death process because of the research done with near-death survivors who have been clinically dead long past medical limits and returned in full health to tell about their journeys to the spirit world.

Not everyone makes this trip or transition, however. For reasons I will enumerate shortly, many souls remain on the earth plane when they die. The chains that bind may vary, but the end result is these unfortunate souls remain in limbo until they are "rescued," or until their focus changes and they are able to pass over into the next dimension and get on with their lives and learning.

It is mainly these earth-bound spirits who do the haunting, rattle those chains, moan and groan and suddenly appear in human form. Why? Well, they certainly get your attention, do they not? This is the reason for much of the so-called ghostly activity - to get attention.

As for why they would want the attention, put yourself in these spirits' shoes for a moment. Suppose you have been taught all your life that death was an end, a nothing, a blank. Or you believed that death was a dreamless sleep in the ground until Gabriel blew a few hot licks on his trumpet.

Then you die. Death may come through any number of forms, but let's say for this example that you are driving along and suddenly there is this big truck headed straight for you, and you KNOW there is no way in hell that you can avoid the inevitable headlong crash. You KNOW you are a gone goose, a dead duck. The crash occurs, and you blank out.

You wake up in the field alongside the wreckage, which is still burning. You can see everything and hear everything, including the rescuers and people watching. YOU ARE FULLY CONSCIOUS AND LUCID. You even have a body of sorts. So what would you conclude? A miracle happened and you got thrown out of your vehicle and survived without a scratch?

What else would you think? You are not asleep; you are in full possession of your faculties. Obviously, you are not in heaven or hell, and obviously, you can still walk around and have no apparent injuries. Your environment, your surroundings seem very real. It is not a blank, a nothing, and you cannot see any angels sitting around plunking harps. A bloody miracle is really the only "rational" explanation.

So you go to one of the people there and ask a question. Not only does the person not seem to hear you, but he or she also does not seem to notice you. You try someone else, mumbling a few nasty adjectives concerning the rudeness of some people, and THE SAME THING HAPPENS.

Bewilderment and panic begin to set in. Strange things are happening. You find your hand going THROUGH the doorknob, through the door, and through the wall. You find you can even pass right through walls. Now you know you are dead, right? WRONG! You can't be dead; you are here. You can see, hear, walk and do all the things you did before this "accident," but you are frightened because it all seems like the Twilight Zone, and you cannot find anyone to get answers from.

Let's say you happen to enter a home and there are several people sitting around the living room. You are now desperate to get SOMEONE'S attention so that you can get some answers. None of those present hear you, and this is frustrating, to say the least. Finally, your frustration reaches such heights that you mentally wish for something to happen that would get their attention. Suddenly, an ashtray on the coffee table moves, and this startles those present.

Aha! You concentrate even harder, and the ashtray moves much further this time. Wow! Did THAT get attention! It also created fear. Fear is the most powerful negative energy there is, and the fear given off by the people in the room is absorbed by YOU. Not only does that give you a lift (like a snort of coke), but it also increases your power to control objects. Pretty soon, you are doing tricks, like sending the ashtray flying across the room and creating sheer panic.

All this time, you have been absorbing more and more negative energy until you gradually become more negative yourself, to the point where it becomes a vicious but enjoyable game with you to see how much you can scare these people. Suddenly, a priest or an exorcist appears, because the house has "demons" in it. And what is your reaction? It's probably a normal one to such "labeling." You would do the same in the flesh; why would things be different post-death? We all react to labeling. We all tend to fulfill society's expectations of "deviant" behavior. We all strive to fulfill the expectations of those we think are more powerful or superior.

So you think, "Demons you want, demons you'll get!" And then the fun begins, and you make the front page of the Star or another tabloid of that ilk. "Evil Demon Terrifies Young Couple!" - what a headline! And so your life of demonic debauchery begins, and you go around seeking fear energy like a drug addict or alcoholic until you may be fortunate enough to find a ghost psychologist or ghost buster to balance your energy fields and help you to pass over. It is not easy being an earthbound spirit. They are usually as scared as we are, AND confused. Wouldn't you be?

In working with so many cases over the years, I have been able to loosely categorize the different types of earthbound spirits. One of the largest groups, at least up to now, is what I have dubbed the "HELL NO, I WON'T GO" gang. If you had been taught all your life that sinners go to hell and you believed that you had sinned, when your death came, would you want to go? Hell no! You'd stay right here on this earth plane, hanging on with all your might.

How would you do this? By pretending that you are still alive. So you interact with others in the flesh - you HAUNT. You try to drive the inhabitants of a dwelling away so you have that dwelling to yourself. You have a place to live just like in the flesh, and you have full consciousness and use of your faculties.

There are other reasons for earthbound spirits that are explained in great detail in a book I have written; space does not permit me to enumerate here except briefly. Most don't know they are dead. They are frozen in time and space at the time of their deaths. Some remain by choice, such as the mother who died in childbirth and remained to help bring up her daughter (a more frustrated soul I have yet to see). Some are chained here by the excessive grief (which is energy) of loved ones left behind, and some remain because of a heavy burden of self-inflicted guilt.

So what does one do when things go bump in the night, when a ghost appears at the foot of the bed, when chains rattle and weird groans fill the darkness? First and foremost, DON'T PANIC! That's the worst thing you can do, for it feeds the ghost negative energy. THERE IS NOTHING NON-PHYSICAL THAT CAN HARM YOU, UNLESS YOU ALLOW IT!

I agree that you do not want the situation to get out of hand. But remember, ghosts are people too. They are scared and confused for the most part, and are simply trying to get attention to communicate. Acknowledge their presence, and talk to them. They need love too, and they can hear you perfectly well. Yes, you can talk out loud to them just as you would to another person. I would not suggest doing that in a crowded place, however; at such times, I suggest using mental telepathy.

If they are annoying, you can tell them to "bug off" or ignore them. If you don't think that's possible, here's what an earthbound said when asked if he tried to get even with his killer. "I've been so mad. I can't get through to them. I try. I found an old buddy, Anderson, and I tried (bitter laughter). The dumb bastard didn't even know I was there. I couldn't move anything around him."

So don't get upset; talk with your ghost if you have one. Help him understand that he is dead and is supposed to pass over to the spiritual realms - or "heaven," if you're more comfortable with that word. Ask him to look up. Ask him to look for the Light. Send him love, and you, too, may rescue one of these lost souls. What a beautiful feeling that will be!

Dr. Roger S.Pile, Ph.D. is the Director of The Center for Gnostic Education and offers Bereavement Counseling, Grief Therapy, group therapy for Separation Recovery, Counseling, Healing, Readings, Investigation (and resolution where possible) of hauntings and possessions.  He is well known in the field for his work with ghosts and other non-physical energy forms, having been at it for over 25 years.  He is also a featured speaker at CosmicÕs ÒA Spirited SeminarÓ on July 31st, 1999.  The Center for Gnostic Education, P.O. Box 928, Killingworth, CT  06419 or e-mail rspile@netscape.net or rspile@connix.com.