I See Dead People

Keeping it light first thing in the morning!

2011-12-01T14:11:00.000-05:00

For years, Gigi has struggled with the existence of ghosts. She'd had several experiences (written about here) as a young toddler and fewer as a preschooler. By the time she'd started grade school, she had forgotten about these and ceased to have very many inexplicable events occur in her life.

Lately, however, I had been hearing more and more about ghosts around her school. The children in her class -- a few of them anyway -- actively exchanged stories about different sightings around the school ground. Gigi shared these with me, in no great detail amid tons of chatter, over the past couple of days.

It wasn't until this morning that a couple of things occurred to me. First, Gigi's pre-tween angst over whether or not ghosts existed was gone. While she used to beg me to tell her if they existed or not and I would always say that she had to figure it out for herself, now she herself believed. Secondly, while I had since the start of school dismissed Gigi's reports of ghosts on campus as simply school lore, I could not anymore.

As the morning sounds of our home began to wake us up, I found myself in the living room and Mimi stealing covers from me; Gigi, I noticed as I walked past her room, was not in bed; instead, I found her curled up beside her Daddy, frightened.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Gigi had a bad night."

"Nightmare?"

"No, Mum, I saw a ghost."

"You did? Where? What do you mean?"

"In the mirror." The full-length mirror on her closet door is parallel to the bunkbeds that the girls share.

"What did it look like?"

"Like a head but without any skin or hair . . ."

"A skull." I gave her the word she needed.

"With a white hat."

"Oh, wow, that does sound like it would have been very frightening. But, you know, they won't hurt you."

Then, feeling a little safer, she went on to describe some events she -- and others at different times -- experienced at school. Some of the sightings sounded plausible -- the children could reasonably be thought to have had paranormal experiences. Others, like the sight of corpses in one of the washrooms, were just too far-fetched and even made the principal laugh.

"But, Mummy, I told you that I went into the washroom to wash my hands the other day and I was sure someone was in there using the bathroom because I could here them. Then, I realized that nobody was there."

I nodded.

"Another time, I saw a boy coming through the wall! In the girls' bathroom, out of the wall!"

"What do you mean?"

"He came through a crack."

I explained two things at this point. First, he would likely have thought she herself was a ghost as many of them do in my experience. Those that figure out you're not a ghost often ask for help or try to help you.

"So, if you and the boy are both afraid, does it make sense for either of you to be afraid?"

"No. . ." she agreed.

Secondly, he may have come through a wall because it's an old building. When he was around, there might have been a different layout of the rooms, etc. Buildings often get remodeled over time, especially schools.

"Oh," she said, seeming a little relieved.

Then, she started to sound frightened again.

"But, Mum, I saw a girl with blood all over her face. She was small and blonde."

"Oh, dear," I said. "That does sound pretty awful. But, you were in the washroom right?"

She nodded.

"Well, where do you go at school when you get hurt? To the washroom to get cleaned up, right?"

I believed her without reservation but I was trying to contextualize, to show how, without knowing the reason for a ghost's visit, the experience can be quite frightening.

Then, I tried something.

"You believe in ghosts now, don't you?"

She nodded slowly, seriously.

"Well, I grew up in haunted house . . ."

"You did?"

That's when I told her a few of the experiences that my family and I'd had.

"Mum . . . my school is haunted. I think some people died there."

What a way to start the day!

Canadian content

2011-11-24T21:36:00.000-05:00

I have an enormous collection of ghost stories -- from eye-witness to classic fiction -- and, over the years, I have found myself unable to read as many as I was buying. So, the "to read" list is so very long. I've been thinking that I should tackle this soon.

Tonight, I am sitting down to read, Jeepers Creepers: Canadian Accounts of Weird Events and Experiences by John R. Colombo.

White-haired and Quiet

2010-11-29T13:28:00.001-05:00

A few minutes ago, my little niece came running past me and said, "I saw a ghost! I saw a ghost!" She had just come from upstairs and then from the living room.

I picked her up:

"What did you see? I didn't hear you." Just to be sure.
"A ghost. I saw a ghost."
"Where did you see it?"
"In the living room."
"Was the ghost a girl or a boy?'
"A boy."
"A little boy or a daddy?"
"A daddy."
"Was his hair light or dark?"
"It was white!"
"Did he speak to you?"
"No."
"What was he doing?"
"Standing there, looking."
"Could you take me to where he was?"

We go to the living room.

"There!" she said, pointing to the coffee table area where Mimi was standing.
"Was he smiling?"
"No."
"Well, there's no need to be afraid. He was just visiting. Just saying, 'Hi.'"

Downstairs . . .

2010-11-28T10:25:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I expected a guest of ours to appear at the top of the stairs in the middle of the night. After all, somebody climbed the steps and stopped at the newly-installed fish tank on the first landing. That's been going on every night since.

Also, Mimi has played with someone called "Lucy" -- younger, maybe two -- on the porch.

"Do you play with her often?"

"No."

"Oh."

"She usually just watches me."

And the other night, I was afraid that our youngest, visible houseguest might be wandering around downstairs in the middle of the night. It sounded like a little child in the kitchen -- the indiscernible words, the little shuffling of feet -- so I went down to investigate, noting that the cat was on our bed.

Nobody was awake.

Lucy is with us for now.

Deadline (2009)

2010-07-13T22:00:00.000-04:00

It was one of Brittany Murphy's last films and it's the one whose poster was quickly recalled after her death because it depicted a scene similar to the circumstances in which the actress was found.

It is definitely a ghost story and I will almost always watch a movie because it is a ghost story. Besides, I've always liked Brittany Murphy (and especially enjoyed The Ramen Girl).

In case you're wondering: Scully did not watch it with me. I watched it alone. (But he has now agreed to re-watch Shutter Island with me.)

Personally, I found the ending confusing and some aspects of the character's life seemed undeveloped.

Hello again

2010-07-07T10:36:00.011-04:00

Oh, boy. I did take an extended break, didn't I?

I didn't mean to do it. I think sometimes I'm overwhelmed with responsibilities and I end up trying to simplify everything to the detriment of my interests, viz. writing this blog.

I took a weekend trip to Lily Dale (an upstate New York Spiritualist community) recently -- even though I am not a member of the Spiritualist Church -- and it ended up being a retreat: napping, shopping, thinking, just . . . being. That really helped.

I want to extend a big thank you to everyone who has written me with questions and requests for guidance. I'll do my best.

I also want to thank everyone who voted in the poll concerning whether or not Scully should re-view the movie 'Shutter Island' with me. So far, he hasn't. But, then, he hasn't seen the results yet, either.

Finally, thank you for just hanging in there as I periodically break from the blog to collect myself.

The Girls

Recently, Gigi and I have continued a really interesting dialogue.

"Do ghosts exist?"

"You have to decide that for yourself."

"But it would be so much easier if you would just tell me!"

Aint that the truth! But I have a strong commitment to ensuring that my children are independent thinkers and I don't want them to be spoon-fed beliefs.

"But YOU believe in ghosts."

"Yes, I do."

The Ghosts

As for the activity in the house, there has been some. To wit, the dining room again. A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in the living room when Gigi just kind of quietly slipped into the room and uneasily perched on the side of the sofa.

"What's the matter?"

"Um, I just heard someone speaking. In the dining room."

"Oh, you mean outside? You heard someone from inside the house?"

"No, it was inside. Right beside my ear."

"What did they say?"

"I couldn't make it out."

"Are you OK?"

"I think I just had a ghost experience."

A poll

2010-03-20T21:38:00.000-04:00

On the way back from my in-laws' house tonight -- about an hour away from our home -- Scully told me that he refused to see Shutter Island with me again. This is just because I fell asleep on both previous occasions after taking care of our two adorable children ALL DAY with no breaks, both times.

So, I told him that I would put a poll up on this blog: Should he see it with me again? He didn't believe me. It's on the sidebar.

A paucity of posts

2010-03-03T23:29:00.000-05:00

So, what happens during the one time in the past, I don't know, two months that I manage to convince Scully to see a movie -- let alone a scary movie -- with me? I fall asleep, snoring included.

It is not a boring movie -- Shutter Island -- and I'm anxious to see it; I'm just fatigued -- hence the paucity of posts -- I think.

That's too bad but I WILL see this movie!

The dining room

2010-02-08T20:42:00.000-05:00

Mimi still won't go into the dining room unless someone is with her. And this weekend, during my reading in the dining room, my client bundled up the entire time, sometimes warming her cheeks. At least you couldn't see our breath! I felt oddly apologetic though I don't have any control over such things; after all, the ambient temperature was 20.5 degrees celsius -- pleasantly warm!

As my client spoke, I kept seeing the spirit of an elderly man around her. He was kind of distant from her but seemed congenial. I told her about him and that he was somehow connected to her friend. The ghost's name was Tom. I'd seen him before around her but hadn't been able to give her a name. I knew he'd been in an airplane accident and I had told her so during a previous appointment.

"That's my friend's father!"

She paused and added, "I forgot to mention last time: My friend's father died in an airline crash . . . "

Still, I don't know who is in the dining room.

Quote of the day

2010-01-28T18:44:00.002-05:00

I simply believe that some part of the human self or soul is not subject to the laws of space or time.

- Carl Jung

Today

2010-01-26T20:53:00.000-05:00

My workout at the gym was good, a strong performance. I sometimes see so clearly the connection between the strength of my intuition and my overall wellbeing. A healthy mind needs a healthy body -- or some such thing.

What was on my mind this day -- a major remodelling project in our home is about to start in the very early spring. While we're adding about 300 square feet, we're not destroying anything or altering the original structure in anyway. We're simply taking an enclosed, screened area and making it a year-round part of our home. We worked very closely with our contractors to ensure that the appearance is maintained in every respect. I wonder if our co-residents will get a bit restless.

They're often nicer . . .

2010-01-25T19:52:00.000-05:00

I used to provide readings in an urban area. This type of setting -- people walking in from the street -- doesn't usually lend itself to much chatter between client and reader (and, from a client's point of view, that should be a good thing.)

Anyway, I could see that many people just looked so frightened when they came in, even if it wasn't their first time for a reading. I felt bad for them and wanted to put them at ease. Often, the exchange ended with me joking that we have more to fear from the living than from the dead.

I've had one of those days when this rings expecially true. Sometimes, people can say really nasty things in a PERSONAL context and it's far more draining than a day of readings can be. Which is what happened. Today. Someone said something -- unrelated to my vocation -- and I'm trying to shrug it off.

It has been a crazy week

2010-01-23T00:05:00.007-05:00

Though there have been signs that a ghost is around, nobody has approached me in any way. So, maybe it's not about me.

Anyway, Mimi still won't go into the dining room without me because of the ghost with a tennis racket. I'm not going to force her. I think Gigi would really like to be able to see this sporty ghost. I think I would, too.

I have a bookswap (for moms) meeting to go to at the beginning of next week and I'm trying to decide if I should take some of my duplicate works of ghost fiction and non-fiction. I keep meaning to sell them; some are quite valuable. But the space on my shelves is becoming prime real estate these days as I have no more room anymore. The basement is already filled to capacity with boxes of books. Last year, we donated about 12 boxes of books to someone who takes the money she earns by selling them and donates it to Haiti. The year before, we sold a few thousand. So, the bookswap idea works very well for me: I'm not taking up any more space and I get to read something new.

The moms who usually attend are mostly interested in "chicklit" but I've picked up some fantastic literature on occasion. I can't wait. It's funny, though, because only the person who hosts the event actually knows what I do for a living. So, I might raise a few eyebrows if I bring along my extra copy of Ghosts on 87th Lane or something!

Just about to read

2010-01-22T00:05:00.001-05:00

Overheard

2010-01-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

I lay in bed resting before supper while Scully prepared the meal and the girls played in the bedroom beside mine.

The girls were chatting:

Gigi: I think there is a spirit in here. (She always says she doesn't believe in them.)

Mimi: Gigi, there's no such thing as ghosts! (She actually sees them all the time.)

Gigi: Really, I just feel like there is one here with us.

Mimi: Oh.

I asked Gigi what she meant and who she thought it might be. She shrugged: "I don't know. I just feel like it's here."

Then, not much later, at the table, Gigi asked: "Mum, are ghosts real?"

"Well, some people believe they are and some don't."

"No, Mum! I need you to tell me if they are real or not."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. You're going to have to decide for yourself."

She growled at me. She knows I believe in ghosts but I don't want to tell her what to believe; I want to promote independence of thought.

Damn!

2010-01-20T00:31:00.002-05:00

I was really in the mood to watch a scary movie tonight but I won't usually do it without Scully -- and he decided to be responsible and do some work instead.

You know, back in the days of my youth, I had a rather dramatic ghost attached to me and to my family (because teenagers just aren't dramatic enough) and this is how it made its first appearance:

One night, my parents had decided finally that, at the age of 12 or so, I was old enough to be home alone and they availed themselves of the opportunity to have a free babysitter for my sister.

I, being home alone, decided that it would be a good idea to watch a movie on television that night. Clearly, I had no experience in this regard because I chose to watch, of all things, The Shining!

Well, as I sat tautly on the edge of my seat with my eyes glued to the TV, the metal garbage can in the kitchen became a drum for unseen hands and the kitchen fan suddenly started running without the benefit of the switch being turned on. I was shocked. I was terrified. But I believe I continued to watch the movie . . .

Anyway, I don't think memories of this early event have anything to do with my unwillingness to watch frightening movies alone. Strangely, the more comfortable I've become with the paranormal in my everyday life, the scarier the movies have seemed!

I could go insane . . .

2010-01-19T16:21:00.000-05:00

A client wrote me, asking for a reading, and, while that's always appreciated, I can't help but shake my head:

Her: "Do you have anything available for Tuesday after 5pm?"

Me: "No, unfortunately, I'm only able to read on Saturdays right now."

Her: "OK. But do you have a slot for Tuesday at 5:15 or later?"

Me: "No, I don't because I'm only able to read on Saturdays."

I wish I could have said: "Yes, because, if you look closely, the following Saturday IS after 5:15 pm on Tuesday."

Walking thoughts . . .

2010-01-18T12:27:00.001-05:00

This morning, Mimi and I were leaving the gym and, as I walked through the door and grabbed her hand, I said: "Oh, Daddy got a job!"

When we got to the end of the plaza, about one minute later, my phone rang. It was Scully:

"Hi, guess what? I got a job . . ."

He finds things like that so eerie.

As soon as it gets quiet . . .

2010-01-17T22:09:00.001-05:00

Tonight, we were watching, of all things, The Ghostwhisperer and, in the middle of the show, Scully and I decided to take a break for snacks, etc. So, I paused the show and, being the first back to the living room, waited very patiently.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash. I bolted up the stairs and over to the kids' room as Scully asked, "WHAT was that?"

They were both soundly asleep. I checked our bedroom, the hallway, etc. -- all over -- but there was no evidence of a crash. As I turned to go back downstairs, I looked over at my office: There didn't seem to be anything out of place. As I peeked around the door, I saw my laptop computer lying on the floor.

It had "fallen" from my desk. Either it jumped off or somebody helped it along the desktop to the floor.

O, would that I were omniscient. I didn't see or sense a ghost but, of course, that doesn't mean that a ghost isn't around. Hmmm. I wonder what's up . . .

Dining room

2010-01-16T09:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, as I prepared for my date with Scully, Mimi came into the kitchen:

"I'm afraid of the dining room."

"The dining room? Why?" There was no need for her to go into the dining room because dinner was done.

"Because of the ghost."

"Oh, what ghost? What does the ghost look like?"

"He has a tennis racket."

A sceptic's contribution

2010-01-14T20:05:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned recently, Scully has grown so much throughout the years as far as the paranormal is concerned.

I think he has developed a sense of awe, too. Imagine what a sentence such as "I've just seen a ghost" has to go through in the machinations of a scientist's sceptical mind only to have it emerge completely intact again. He often just shakes his head when, for example, we see ghosts on the basement stairs and in the backyard, particularly right in front of the carriage house.

But he has always been very supportive, even back in the days when he wouldn't entertain the possibility that ghosts exist.

He speaks of me and what I do with his friends and colleagues.

He has accompanied me, if only at first for safety reasons, on investigations big and small. He's driven me to the locations and has tirelessly held many video cameras; he has also spared me for entire weekends as I travelled with others to remote locations for a documentary.

And when media attention has been at its most intense, he has been content to be Mr. Ghostiegurl.

While still a sceptic, his intelligence dictates that an unexplained experience does not necessarily have to be understood through the present scientific paradigm. That's pretty cool.

Cold

2010-01-11T20:35:00.001-05:00

I woke up last night because I needed another blanket -- it's THAT cold. It's unsually cold even for Canada and these here parts.

But it's still not the kind of cold that I can feel when there's a ghost around. That particular kind of cold seems to be coming from my own body, freezing everything it touches around me. That's really difficult to articulate, actually.

As very young adults, my brother and I used to chat on the phone just about every night. He was dealing with an issue that he couldn't discuss with anyone: Our paternal grandmother would visit him quite regularly. He would be asleep in the dark and then a lamp would turn itself on and wake him up; he'd see my grandmother sitting on his bed or standing at the end of it.

(That wasn't really a problem for him; I think he was having trouble dealing with the fact that she had told him their visits would soon stop. But he wanted to know more about where she was, what she was doing and what she was able to do in her, uh, state.)

One night, he told me that she would come visit me and asked if I was ready because she would be there that night. As we were talking on the phone, my body grew colder and I could barely stand. I could hardly hold the phone.

I remember standing in the upstairs hallway and looking at my parents' room -- they were asleep, stretched out trying to stay cool in a heat wave. The outdoor temperature was in the 90s but I was shivering and feeling weak. My brother asked if she was there and I had to say, "Yeh, she's here."

I had been in the presence of ghosts many times before but this was the first -- and not the last -- time that I had been in this way affected.

How things change!

2010-01-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

Years ago, when I first started reading professionally, I noticed a trend: The number of television shows concerning the paranormal was increasing. I couldn't think of anything I'd rather be doing less -- after all, I spent all day dealing with the paranormal and didn't want to spend my spare time doing so as well.

So, the irony has not escaped me that, as I sit here wondering if I'm going to watch Ghost Lab, Extreme Ghost Stories, or Paranormal State, things have changed. I've changed.

It's not surprising, really. I only do readings on the weekends now. I also accept who I am and what I do much more readily than I used to; I'm comfortable in my own skin.

But all of this self-reflection has not helped me decide what I'm going to watch tonight.

Gigi learns about ghosts . . . Again

2010-01-09T18:29:00.001-05:00

Because she's becoming more curious about what I do and why -- being almost seven -- I decided to try something I've never done: I allowed Gigi to watch Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal with me.

Regular readers will know that Gigi used to see ghosts until about the age of five. Starting around the summer last year, she began to be more curious about what I do. Until then, she had just referred to my readings as my "appointments" or my "ladies".

In the past few months, many times, I tried to have a conversation with her only to get stuck on the concept of intuition. (I worked on that by asking her, "What FEELs true?" in this or that conversation.)

Today was the day that I said, "Would you like to watch this show with me?"

It was fascinating to watch as she began to understand what I meant by "ghost", that some people believe while others do not and, through the show's participants, she also grasped that it wasn't something that she could talk about with everyone. Throuhout the show, this is what she said:

"I don't have a ghost. Do you?"

"I don't want to turn into a ghost. I don't want to scare people and make them run away."

"When I was little, I felt a chill and I think I heard a 'meow'. I think it was a cat ghost." In 2006, I posted about Gigi and a ghost cat.

Wow! Again with the cat ghosts. Scully -- the bewildered scientist -- has spoken increasingly of our resident ghostly pets.

Most interestingly, when she learned that she didn't have to be afraid of ghosts and that this was a decision she could make on her own, she provided commentary to the story of a girl who was very afraid, she said,

"I think she should just get used to it."

Ta-da! There. It wasn't easy but it wasn't as difficult as I feared. But what about my vocation?

Well, she learned that I believe in ghosts, that part of what I do involves interracting with ghosts in some way.
She learned, too, that there are elements of the stories we tell ourselves culturally about ghosts (folklore) that make stories exciting but which aren't necessarily true. One child during the episode was about to see what information (s)he could sense about a ghost, (s)he said: "How come we always have to wait until night to do this?" I looked at Gigi and told her that neither darkness nor night hours were not necessary in order to sense or communicate with ghosts.
I think that's enough for now.

So, what do people of my vocation do when they're not working?

2010-01-08T22:48:00.004-05:00

We tool around changing our blog -- I had to do this tonight because the company I've used for years for commenting decided to go all professional on me.

So, don't mind the dust, I'm just changing things around and my sidebar contents will be up again soon.

Celebrity and Ghosts

2010-01-08T18:24:00.006-05:00

The title of a show caught my eye around Hallowe'en, so I set up a series recording and just kind of forgot about it until the other night.

I'm really enjoying catching up with Celebrity Ghost Stories. The stories of Justine Bateman, Sammy Hagar, Ernie Hudson, etc. are really great and very well told. I think, as well as preserving the 'spooky tales' tradition, it hearkens back to the oral tradition of which I've spoken. I like the stories told around a campfire because, whether believable or not, they 're fun.

But this isn't to say that I confuse the lore with the actual account of paranormal experiences. There are telltale signs that a story belongs to the realm of folklore -- and I'll address them in another post.

Anyway, what have I been up to since I last posted?

I've given readings, one per week to keep a balance between home and work, and I've convalesced. I've been sick since the beginning of November. Tomorrow, I will start my 2nd course of antibiotics.

Uh . . .

2009-11-07T10:30:00.004-05:00

Some clients leave me speechless which, ask Scully, is very hard to do. One person actually gave me a cell number to use and said, "You can't call my home because my wife doesn't know about you."

Paranormal Activity

2009-10-29T19:09:00.008-04:00

Once again, I pestered Mr. Ghostiegurl (a.k.a. Scully) to see a scary movie with me because I dared not go on my own. (He doesn't enjoy going to the cinema and he doesn't enjoy supernatural thrillers.)

Going to see this movie, as it turns out, is one terrifying ordeal. Wow. I even reject some of the plot's presuppositions and I'm surprised I wasn't curled up in a fetal position at the end.

I have to say that I really do like pseudo-verité films (the style works really well when combined with the supernatural). I'm not alone. NBC.com reported today that the film has surpassed The Blair Witch Project as "the most profitable movie ever" as it reaps ridiculous returns on the initial investment of $15,000 US.

Tonight's Houseguest

2009-09-12T21:36:00.005-04:00

Tonight, as we four sat at the supper table in the kitchen, we heard the bells of the cat's ball in the dining room.

"Uh, what was THAT?" Scully asked.

"The cat," I shrugged.

"Uh, the cat's right HERE."

There she was, curled up on the bench beside him. Since we have no other animals, I got up and walked to the door of the dining room and peered inside. Nothing.

"I've been seeing a lot of cat ghosts recently. A lot," said Scully.

Our two cats died about four years ago and we continue to see them around. But Scully . . . He's come a LONG way since we first met. (Hence, the nickname.)

2009-08-12T10:24:00.005-04:00

The Unborn (2009)

I'm always looking for movies that will scare me. The Unborn (2009, David S. Goyer) intrigued me but it didn't frighten me.

It had great gothic elements: sanity vs. supernatural, abandoned buildings, strong female lead.

2009-08-03T21:21:00.010-04:00

Who's That?

One day this month, I heard my 27-month-old waking up from a nap:

"Who's that? Who's that?" She called out. She had never used that phrase before.

I ran upstairs. "Who are you talking about, honey?"

"That man." She pointed to the floor beside her bed.

There was nobody there. I told her so.

"The man was there."

"Did the man talk to you?"

She nodded.

"What did he say?"

"It's my house."

"He told you it was his house?"

"Yes." My heart pounded. I told her it was our house, our home.

"Did he say anything else?"

"He said 'Thank You'. The books."

"What's his name?"

"Jeff. He gave me my [pacifier]."

My heart jumped. We don't know anyone by that name and it's not a name in the few cartoons that she watches.

She also told me that he often visits her and reads books. I told her he wouldn't be back. Though I didn't see him, I asked 'Jeff' not to return.

2009-07-13T13:13:00.004-04:00

Nice to be back

Having resumed readings, I'm pleased to hear that people are happy that I'm back.

I really like the connection that occurs when someone comes for a reading.

Client, yesterday: "Do you remember every reading?"

Well, in a way, I do. Often, a guide that was present at the last reading is present at the next. The same 'sense' of that person comes to me, as well. I remember the person and, if they're sitting before me again, I remember the connection that was established between us. The connection? It's difficult to describe. It's spiritual. I suppose it's ineffable.

2009-07-04T10:44:00.005-04:00

On a serious note . . .

This is the part of who I am that makes me so uncomfortable. Last night, a little boy came to me in a dream and told me he was trapped on a property. He asked me to look around and make note of where he was so that I could get people to find him.

I looked around and I saw the farm-like area, wooden structures. I made note of these structures.

He was extremely agitated. He told me that he had been eating dirt and whatever he could find on the ground in order to survive but that he didn't know how much longer he could do it.

I told him he was dead and he cried, his head in his hands, as he kept repeating, "No, no, no!"

I was so sad for him. Somebody had taken him and left him there. Now, when he said he couldn't be dead, I had to say: "But you must be, otherwise I wouldn't be able to talk to you."

I honestly didn't know what I could do to help him. The area that seems right to me is one of the Canadian provinces -- B.C. Burnaby is associated with the boy so I'm thinking he might have gone missing from there?

Scully told me to write about this because I find it so distressing and because maybe it will help the boy. On the one hand, I know many people will think I'm an absolute whackjob and, on the other hand, I can't deny that it happens to me. I'm not hallucinating; it's in dream-state. I just know from experience that it's someone who wants help. I hope I can help him.

2009-06-20T23:31:00.005-04:00

Selective Scare-dy Cat

So, in the previous post, I mentioned that I was generally unafraid of out-of-the-ordinary events.

Today, I'm thinking about the fact that I've seen objects levitate, balls of light, apparitions, ghosts; and, daily, I have ghosts in my dreams, ghosts asking for help, precognitions, premonitions of catastrophes, and accurate feelings of foreboding.

Through the years, I've seen a key melt in the lock of an intensely hot door on the other side of which there was no fire and no heat. I've watched a hanging plant swing back and forth so violently that I thought the hook would be yanked out of the ceiling (no wind, no windows, nobody home). I've had a ghost wake me up and thereby save me and my husband from being burnt in a fire. I've held a remote control while a television flipped through channels on its own. I've tried to shut off a television that came on by itself only to discover that it was in the 'off' position. Ditto a wall-switch-operated ceiling fan. I've even had banging on the walls, and footsteps on the stairs, that was so loud that nobody in the house could sleep.

These are only a few of the events of I've experienced. Clearly, I'm no stranger to the 'paranormal'.

Yet, I still need Scully to stay in the same room with me if I'm watching a frightening movie! That's right. I couldn't watch The Sixth Sense without dear Mr. Ghostiegurl himself being there holding my hand all those years ago. He was recently there beside me -- reading -- while I watched The Uninvited and I STILL had nightmares. And just a few moments ago, I aborted a solo attempt to watch another scary film . . .

2009-06-19T23:49:00.005-04:00

Eyeliner, a highlight of my teen years . . .

I always thought it hadn't fazed me in the least.

At twelve, my family became unwitting hosts to what would generally be described as a poltergeist though, myself, I'm reluctant to use such a label. Although I did fit the conventional model for such experiences in the popular school of thought, I don't actually believe that a storm of hormone and emotion typical of puberty was responsible.

There was definitely energy 'focussed' on me but not only upon me. At different times, we were subjected to very terrifying experiences and, yet, I was strangely detached, more an observer who occasionally became annoyed than a victim.

I got a rush of adrenaline whenever my mother described the latest event to which she had been witness but that was it. I didn't want to run under my covers and hide.

When objects of mine were destroyed -- while I and the rest of my family were away -- it definitely niggled. I'd had a wall covered with my favourite posters culled painstakingly from magazines over a period of time. One day, returning from school, I discovered that every single eyebrow of every person in each poster (dozens) had been coloured over with black eyeliner. The posters were ruined! And my stick of eyeliner was lying on my dresser. And I wanted to blame somebody, anybody, even my stepfather who had been at work! But there was no one to blame. No one that I could see, anyway.

Again, I was shocked, my heart pumping as my eyes scanned one end of the wall to the other, but I wasn't truly afraid during this episode or during others (and there were many, many more both before and after.)

I find it interesting that I wasn't afraid.

2009-06-14T11:39:00.010-04:00

Naturally . . .

Not all of my dreams, alas, are prophetic in nature.

Over the years, I've learnt to tell the difference between prophetic and ordinary dreams but I did stumble in the beginning, missing the cues that distinguish the two kinds.

In my early twenties, dreams that were prophetic were oftentimes very clearly so. A nocturnal foretelling always spoke to an undesirable event in my own life or to a catastrophe such as a plane (or shuttle) crash.

But as I aged, I realized that such dreams were not always necessarily of something profound and I learnt to identify the nuances that marked more mundane events as well, such as the outcomes of shopping trips or superbowl games (in which I had no interest).

Among the differences, I watch all predictive dreams as if viewing them through a yellowish, grainy film, unable to affect the story's unfolding. They're sometimes fragments and, at other times, they're textured with vivid details.

But, anyway, I'm reminded of those earlier difficulties as I recall a couple of dreams that I've had over the past month of George Stroumboulopoulos from CBC's The Hour. Scully will be relieved that they were of the ordinary kind . . .

2009-06-12T21:08:00.006-04:00

Freaky Friday -- and funny, too

So, today I'm working out at the gym and I see a good friend of mine whom I haven't seen in a week or so.

"Hey," I tell her. "I had a dream about you the other night."

OK, she's hooked. She turns away from the direction of the class and moves closer.

"I've had the exact dream twice now."

Her eyes brighten and she has a conspiratorial smile on her face. "What is it???" At the gym, we keep my vocation on the D-L.

"Well, it's strange. You take me to this show of some sort, paranormal in nature with readings, products, etc. But it's in a church basement."

She laughs.

"My (bimonthly channelling) group is having a fair/event. It's in the church basement this summer. Guess I'll be taking you!"

"I guess so! See you there."

"Yep, see you there!"

2009-06-07T19:27:00.006-04:00

My children and their 'friends'

At bedtime, my almost-six-year-old announces:

"At night, the ghosts come and give me Poe (an Ugly Dragon toy)."

"They what? How do you know?"

"They give me Poe. Every morning, I wake up and I have Poe in my bed." But she doesn't fall asleep with the stuffed animal and neither Scully nor myself ever gives her the toy before at bedtime.

But the heart-stopper? My just-turned-two-year-old, about a half-hour later as I'm lying beside her so she'll fall asleep, says:

"Ghost, Mummy."

"Where?"

"There." She points above her.

"Sad," she says using the sign for sad. "Misses me."

"Is it a lady or a man?"

"A man."

"What's his name?"

I couldn't understand her response. My heartrate still has not returned to normal.

2009-06-07T06:39:00.003-04:00

The unprepared . . .

I woke up to my own voice and that of Scully's reassurances in the middle of the night. Apparently, I screamed very loudly.

It's going to take a while, I think, to settle my mind after watching The Uninvited. It was suspenseful, a taut thriller, and full of great twists. I don't usually have frightening dreams after watching a movie in this genre.

By the way, I love the window art ;-)

2009-06-06T06:21:00.004-04:00

Dear Ghostiegurl:

Question:

I believe my house is haunted. It dates back to possibly 1902 and mainly is drawn to my children which terrifies them. Can anyone help?

Answer

I love old houses. I think it's a treasure to have a century home. It's my experience that all houses are haunted regardless of age or location.

As to experiences, some people are more sensitive to changes in their environment and, therefore, can see and/or hear ghosts. Children are extremely sensitive in this regard.

It's natural for children -- for anyone -- to be afraid of the unknown. But, once the experience is normalized for them, children will usually settle down. By normalize, I mean that if children see that others are not afraid and are told that such paranormal activity is pretty common, they will take their cues from us. That being said, it's difficult to contain our reactions when a ghost pops out of nowhere or rocking chairs begin to rock on their own.

However, being the parent, you need to trust your intuition where your children are concerned. Just bear in mind that in my many years of readings and conversations, I have never once heard even third hand that someone was injured by a ghost.

Thanks for writing. Hope this helps,

Ghostiegurl.

2009-05-31T17:12:00.004-04:00

Never say never . . .

If I'm really honest with myself, I'd have to say that I didn't want to return to giving readings. The hiatus for me felt liberating because I wanted fewer responsibilities elsewhere in order to take care of my children. I felt pulled in too many directions. But things change. People change. Ghosts pop up in your dreams.

I ended the hiatus today with a scheduled reading for a longstanding client. During the reading, I remembered a dream in which a an elderly female ghost told me: "She needs to know she's dying." I thought, "Wha'?"

My client needed to know that an elderly aunt would pass soon. I hate passing on that kind of information, especially since it can be so vague. Elderly people always pass on! But the ghost -- of a stern disposition -- herself was elderly, with bone-straight, shoulder-length grey hair.

We had a good laugh about the nature of that kind of communication, the client and I, and I raised my voice slightly: "It wouldn't be so bad if I could just have A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION." I looked quickly around me, hoping someone might take a hint.

It brought back the humour to my memory. It brought back the freakin' strangeness of it all. It brought back one more thing in the form of my client's question:

"Do you have any idea how you affect other people's lives?"

2009-05-20T08:15:00.004-04:00

From Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost:

`My dear sir,' said Mr. Otis, `I really must insist on your oiling those chains, and have brought you for that purpose a small bottle of the Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator. It is said to be completely efficacious upon one application, and there are several testimonials to that effect on the wrapper from some of our most eminent native divines. I shall leave it here for you by the bedroom candles, and will be happy to supply you with more should you require it.' With these words the United States Minister laid the bottle down on a marble table, and, closing his door, retired to rest.

For a moment the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless in natural indignation; then, dashing the bottle violently upon the polished floor, he fled down the corridor, uttering hollow groans, and emitting a ghastly green light. Just, however, as he reached the top of the great oak staircase, a door was flung open, two little white-robed figures appeared, and a large pillow whizzed past his head! There was evidently no time to be lost, so, hastily adopting the Fourth Dimension of Space as a means of escape, he vanished through the wainscoting, and the house became quite quiet.

From the man . . .

2009-05-19T18:49:00.004-04:00

"The only real valuable thing is intuition."

-Albert Einstein

2009-05-08T08:05:00.008-04:00

Freaky Friday I

The basement was the worst part of our old house. It was old; the stone sweated. The floors were cold and bare and the only time we used this part of the house was to do laundry.

Personally, if I needed to get clothes, I would run down, race to the dryer, and get back upstairs as quickly as I could.

My sister -- six years younger than I -- had a different attitude. While she found it a creepy place, her friends wanted to play there and she ended up spending a lot more time in the basement than I ever would.

(When we first moved in, as I've explained, there were many paranormal events. I remember, especially in the early years, that my stepfather and mother would wake us up with their conversations. They heard loud, heavy footsteps starting at the bottom of the stairs and going all the way to the top, just outside the master bedroom. I heard them, too, but, more often than this, I heard my parents talking about the sound.)

One night, I woke up because -- two floors beneath! -- I heard sounds coming from the basement. It sounded like heavy wood hitting concrete or stone. As my parents and I sat and listened, we heard chop, chop, chopping sounds followed immediately by a hollow-sounding thud (wood on stone). This happened over and over and over.

My mother and I ventured -- on tiptoes, for some reason -- down to the kitchen and approached the basement entrance. The sounds stopped. This happened several times.

When I look back, I shake my head and I think how fortunate I am that other people experienced these events at the same time as I did . . .

2009-05-03T21:16:00.011-04:00

I grew up with 'em . . .

We gave my younger daughter a very large, wooden, Victorian-style dollhouse. It's as tall as she is. The girls love it.

It reminds me of our old family home. We knew the house was haunted -- all of us -- the day that we moved in. At first, we heard footsteps that would wake us all up in the middle of the night. Eventually, it transpired that each of us heard the patter, and the laughter, of children on the front porch and on the stairs in the foyer. Over time, we were able to put names to the, er, faces via the city's registry.

Anyway, the most striking aspect of the children's presence was that it could be heard -- at exactly the same volume -- no matter where a person was in the house. It could even be heard above the din of televisions and stereos.

I heard running, as did the others, and the incredibly faint strains of "Ring Around the Roses."

Frankly, I was still more than a little frightened by the idea of disclosing my experiences to the rest of the family even though we all knew that the others knew about the running on the porch.

One shadowy afternoon, my mother was napping in her room and I was in mine. I heard her call me.

"Yeh, Mum?"

"Will you turn off the TV for me?" My mother didn't open her eyes.

"Oh, you don't want it on anymore?"

"I didn't want it on in the first place. It just came on again." This had been going on since my grandmother had died a few weeks before.

As I was talking to her and turning off the television, I asked her if she'd heard anyone.

"You mean the children singing?"

"Yes!" I was excited. I was relieved. This was good. "What song do YOU hear?"

"Ring Around the Roses."

My sister had heard it, too. And so began the dialogue that, for so many years, nurtured my intuition and perception.

2009-05-01T10:36:00.006-04:00

I'm BACK! And Freaky Friday is here.

Well, I didn't actually go anywhere. But, after a 2.5 year hiatus, I'm booking reading appointments again.

It wasn't just burnout that caused me to want to stop that long while back: Having children, requiring childcare, etc. all played a part. Also, I was worried about the stigmatizing effect it might have on my children. But, I've worked it all out and, if I'm very discreet, it can be done.

The last thing I want to teach my children is to be uncomfortable with who they are; but, let's face it, childhood can be difficult where peer relationships are concerned.

My intention is to post daily but, additionally, I want to post weekly about a psychic or ghostly experience.

Let's start now: we'll make it Freaky Friday.

Recently, I had been hearing cupboards door slamming, people walking around upstairs in the evening and during the day. I called out (for I'm a lazy psychic) and asked, "Scully? Is that you?" or "Girls, are you running around up there?"

Of course, Scully was watching a video on his laptop with the HEADPHONES on and didn't even hear me, let alone budge from his comfy spot. And, the girls? They were asleep each time it happened.

No, I didn't think I was losing my mind. I didn't think this each time I felt a presence or when I heard a gravelly voice call my name.

Then, a day after the last event and week after the first, I received a phone call from my sister:

"I'm sorry to disturb you this late, but I just had to tell you! (Terri) died!"

I was stunned, actually. I'd known her for about 33 years. She'd babysat us daily. I'd grown up with her own children.

Then, a phone call to my mother:

"She died last Wednesday, a massive coronary."

"Oh, between 10 and 11 pm?"

"Yes, that's when they believe it happened."

Well, that's when Terri had started visiting me. Slamming my cupboards though? Let's just say, I'm not the most organized psychic nor am I the best housekeeper. She was organized, immaculate. In my own way, I'll miss her.

2009-02-20T11:37:00.006-05:00

Dear Ghostiegirl

Question:

I have a friend who tells me she sees ghosts that are people and also animals. She says that in the past years the sights have been getting more clear because they use to be just a greenish yellow outline of someone, but now she said she can see what they look like and all. It makes me really curious to think why she sees them? And why cant I? I always thought it was very interesting and would like to see what it'd be like to be in her shoes one day. I was hoping maybe you could give me some answers and if maybe there's any way I could be able to have this gift . . . if I . . . I dunno, practiced or something, lol? Please help! I'd love to hear what you have to say :)

Answer:

Thanks for writing. I'm finally able to devote more time to answering questions since my younger daughter is older now.

I think your question is a good one. It has stumped and motivated so many paranormal researchers, parapsychologists, and other inquisitive people for many, many years. (I'll try to remember to post some links to the well-established, respected institutions devoted to such questions).

Some people believe that they have a special mental power that is often referred to as a "gift". It's difficult for me to support this because I'm pretty much a pragmatic person at heart.

I only have a theory (and I'm not a neuroscientist) but I believe that there is probably some portion of the brain that allows people to see ghosts and predict future events -- or some neural networks that develop -- via the experience of intuition. Everyone has intuition. The question is: why would it be stronger in some people than in others? My suspicion is that it has to do with early childhood development and the varying need to cope. Whereas everyone has intuition regarding their own lives, for some this intuition is more encompassing or comprehensive.

That being said, can others develop this? I don't know. I don't give advice in this regard because you just never know what the outcome may be. Personally, I pay attention to my dreams because ghosts often visit in this way. I always notice when things are askew in my home, when the temperature has dropped, when objects move, when there is an unknown odor. Also, my older child and my husband both report experiences, too.

Unfortunately, I've seen more than a few people become so obsessed with wanting to have a paranormal experience that it becomes unhealthy for them to continue to try. Also, I've seen people positively frightened after having the longed-for paranormal experience.

I hope I've been of some help.

--Ghostiegurl

2009-01-18T13:14:00.006-05:00

O, my!

I've neglected this blog for a long time. It isn't that I haven't experienced anything of the (para)normal; it's that spare time is sparse.

Anyway, to fill you in, as recently as last night the house was astir.

Scully and I were sitting on the sofa watching a movie and I gasped:

"I just saw a ghost." It had taken me by surprise.

"Oh, I felt a presence behind me." He admitted.

"Yes, it walked behind us and into the hallway." It had seemed to be heading into the kitchen.

Although the image was indistinct, I got the impression of a slight, elderly woman who was hunched over a bit.

Then, this morning, I was at the gym waiting for my spinning class to begin. I was upstairs with one other person, a clerk, who was arranging the bicycles.

"Hey," I said. "That door was closed. I know it was."

Neither of us had been anyway near the bathroom nor had we left the spinning room and yet the door of the bathroom was now wide open.

The clerk smiled and looked away quickly but didn't say anything. She looked as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Sometimes, people are afraid to mention ghosts because they don't know if the other person believes; at other times, people are constrained by rules/regulations as an employee of a company. Whatever the reason for her silence, I could tell she knew something.

2008-09-12T10:00:00.007-04:00

She isn't afraid

At the beginning of summer, we moved the girls' playroom to the screened-in front porch. The other day, I got Scully to put batteries in the mini keyboard/all-in-one musical instrument. For days on end, I'd been hearing faint classical music but couldn't tell where it was coming from.

Then, Scully pointed out that it was the keyboard on the porch going off due to some kind of "short". I tried to accept that but it didn't feel right. My little daughter, almost 17 months old now, says 'hi' to people and only to people. She'd been saying 'hi' every once in a while throughout the house for the past day or so. Strange, but nothing of great importance.

It got to the point that I couldn't take the classical music anymore playing at all times of the day and night, so I removed the batteries yesterday and then went inside to get a Freezie for the baby.

She grabbed the Freezie, walked straight over to the porch, walked out and said 'hi' in the direction of the keyboards. Then, she held her Freezie up proudly to show someone in the same area.

I told Scully who admitted it was a bit "freaky". The poor guy. Living with three sensitive females must be hard.
Whoever it is, it's her ghost because I get only the faintest impressions.

It reminds me of Gigi who, at 18 months, used to run over to the potting shed in the backyard looking for "Ollie".

2008-08-14T22:26:00.002-04:00

Remains of the Dead

The first in the Ghost Dusters mystery series by Wendy Roberts, The Remains of the Dead is a quick read. Despite the fact that it addresses serious matters, it manages to be light and entertaining.

Sadie, our protagonist, has an unusual business and a habit that she manages to conceal from most people: she regularly speaks to the dead. We learn more about her relationships with others -- living and dead -- than we do about her at this point in the series. For example, it may have completely escaped my attention but I had no clear idea of her age.

Surprisingly, I was more impressed by the dialogue between the living and the dead -- and by the subplots -- than I was by the plot itself. Not that it does not work, but the dialogue between Sadie and her ghosts stole the show, so to speak.

It has not ceased to amaze me that there are at least as many characterizations of ghosts and their relationships to the living as there are books that I've read in which ghosts (forgive me) appear. This book is no exception.

If you read this book, do so because it is not very densely populated with questions about souls, the afterlife and what it all means. It adheres to the rules of genre mystery writing and it has a twist. It also conveys a unique perspective on communication with the dead, an original one in my experience.

2008-07-29T21:57:00.005-04:00

What boy?!

This evening, I confess that I couldn't wait to get the children to bed. With Scully being away on business, I'm tired. So, after putting Gigi to bed, I was done and reclining (or, refusing to move, if you prefer). The house was mostly silent except for the sound of the fan in the baby's unused nursery.

But I could hear a soft conversation (with laughter) between two children and I just passed it off as the product of sleep deprivation or a simple error in perception.

Later on, I did actually move and went to check on the children. Baby was asleep and Gigi was, too. Just as I was leaving, Gigi woke up and lifted her head, squinting:

"Mum, where did the boy go?"

I couldn't get her to say anything else. Five-year-olds are surprisingly protective of their sleep. At least, mine is. I must make a mental note to ask her tomorrow to please elaborate. These days, however, I often get a sigh as if talking to me is a real chore; well, at least as if I'm not as interesting as Arthur and D.W.

2008-07-29T08:39:00.004-04:00

Again with the door!

On Sunday night, I fell asleep at the same time as the girls did. At some point, I could hear the phone ringing downstairs. I decided not to answer it, feeling too tired. Besides, who calls a house with children so late at night? But the phone was persistent.

Then, the doorbell rang. I checked the time: about 10 p.m. I thought, "There's no way I'm going down there to answer that!" But, again, it persisted. Searching frantically for something to preserve my modesty, I grabbed my maternity hospital gown (er, it accidentally ended up in my suitcase last year) and ran downstairs.

I called through the door, "Who is it?"

"It's security, ma'am," a man answered back. "Are you alright?"

Ugh. He called me 'ma'am'.

"Yes, I'm OK." I opened the door just a little. How did I know if he was really a security guard from my security company?

"ALARM COMPANY has detected an intrusion alert. We need to know if you're OK."

That's when I noticed it: the absence of an alarm. That thing is so !#$@@ noisy, I would have heard it down the street.

"If you check Zone 102, you'll see the door's open."

I looked over and, surely enough, it was open. But I had locked it!

"Must have been the wind or something," he offered.

"Yeh," I said. "The wind." Except: I wouldn't have been able to secure the house if the door was insecure enough to have blown open in the wind. When the door is shut -- but not locked -- it is impossible to push it open.

A report was filled out. The security guard had checked the entire property, inside and under my car as well. He went room-by-room, door-by-door through the entire house. The only other people in here with me, he concluded, were two sleeping children.

I was a bit shaken. There were no signs of attempted break-in. Scully, being in the UK on business, was going to have a hard time believing this.

I waited until I knew he'd be awake before calling.

"What??@!" He yelled down the phone. "Obviously, you DIDN'T lock it. That's the only reasonable explanation."

"But I DID lock it. I went around the entire house locking up. You're telling me to convince myself that I didn't do something I can remember clearly doing. THAT'S insane," I countered.

He had to agree. But, why hadn't the alarm sounded? That's when he realized it wasn't an error on my part. The alarm had been set but had not gone off. I couldn't have set the alarm if the door hadn't been shut and it has been clearly established that one cannot push the door open when it's shut-but-not-locked. Ha!

I have to admit, before going to sleep, I had asked my spirit guides and relatives watching over us to give me a sign that they were with us because I couldn't see or detect them.

2008-07-23T22:36:00.005-04:00

Ridding My Home of Books

Scully has asked me to kindly go through our 10,000 books and, well, get rid of some that I don't want or won't read or won't read again, etc.

Fair enough. We either need to get a bigger house or pare down our collection. I've definitely set some boundaries. There are books with which I will never part; books that are no longer in print or books that had such a limited print run that you can barely find them on the Internet.

I'm thinking of old Hans Holzer, Ed & Lorraine Newman, Edgar Cayce tomes . . . To mention only a few among hundreds of names. Over the years, I've tried different book databases and different methods of tracking my acquisitions but, really, haven't succeeded very well. I think I will use this blog to help keep me organized. Why not? I'm working on a running list of titles in the area of supernatural/paranormal/psychic phenomena and will post a link.

I'm reminded of the first time that we (my family-of-origin and I) walked through our new home in the early 1980s. As I kind of 'spaced out' looking around, taking everything in, I heard my mother mentioning to someone that many families had lived in the house but most had left pretty quickly.

I opened the closet door of the upstairs hallway. There, on the shelf, was a copy of the bible. Had people been afraid? Was this an age-old custom of moving home? And, now I wonder, did I keep the bible?

2008-07-18T08:57:00.004-04:00

Dear Ghostiegurl:

I have a home that a man died in and he and his wife were in the middle of a divorce. They would fight all the time. He died in this house of a heart attack. I have seen the man here and often feel his presence. When my husband comes home we fight always and we try to be close. You can feel a very cold presence in the room, yet if we quit and walk into another room, it is usually warm. Any sugggestions???

Answer:

Many psychics believe that ghosts leave visual or emotional "imprints" (it's like watching a film over and over again or feeling a certain emotion in a certain room) on the places in which they lived or spent time in. It's possible that you and your husband can pick up the tension in the room in which you and he argue because the deceased man and his wife used to argue there.

If it is an imprint, you're not dealing with a ghost. But, you say that you have seen him. If it isn't an imprint, and you are picking up the attitude of the ghost, then you may ask him to leave. Tell him that he doesn't have to stay there anymore or, that if he does stay, ask him to leave rooms when you enter and you can "share" the house in peace.

2008-07-11T22:26:00.008-04:00

Reaping

I came up with a description of my status: I'm now a professional 'psychic on leave of absence', though I can still be convinced to give a reading every now and then. I still hear from regular clients who like to give me updates, tell me they look forward to my returning to work. A local group asked me if they could keep me in mind for future investigations (some televised, some not) and I agreed.

Anyway, I decided to watch a movie while reaping the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. At the gym, I sat transfixed as The Reaping played on my Treo. It made going to resistance level 8 for four minutes, three times a lot easier; it made me work harder during the four four-minute "rest" intervals.

I didn't get to finish it. The pre-programmed weightloss workout (if you're not doing the math) is only 28 minutes long. I'm hoping to finish it at the next two gym sessions!

What do I think about it? It's definitely creepy. Gabriel Byrne is always worth watching. I'm not religious but I often find myself watching scary movies with religious themes (think: The Omen, The Exorcist) and really enjoying them. I can't say much about The Reaping because I haven't seen much.

Carrying on the theme of psychic kids:

As a child -- about the age of Gigi -- I had a knack for always knowing where anything was located within the house. My mother would say, "Have you seen this ----?" and I have one particular memory of opening a bottom cupboard in the kitchen and reaching around behind the pipes to show my mother where an object was. She found the frequency of this kind of event peculiar.

My sister -- whose abilities are more dream-oriented than outright intuition -- complained often about playing games with me, especially the card game, Go Fish. I always "just knew" what she had as a hand. She STILL talks about it from time to time as being a particular point of frustration while we were growing up.

As far as empathy goes, as a child, I would walk past people and get overwhelmed with an emotion of some great intensity, as if it was just washing over me and I could barely stand up under the pressure or weight of it. The hardest emotion, of course, being sorrow or grief. It wasn't easy and I would really dread having to walk past people at a very young age!

So many psychic things happened to me as a child; would I have wanted to "go public" with it on a show such as Psychic Kids? I doubt it. I doubt that my mother, as open-minded as she is about such things, would have allowed it.

Gigi always knows who is calling and often tells us who is coming by. As you probably already know, she's been talking about ghosts since she started talking! After much thought, I realize that I would not allow her or my other child to participate in such a show.

At any rate, if you, dear readers, would like me to post about something in particular, please feel free to ask as I work harder to keep this blog updated more frequently. Otherwise, I'll just keep rambling on as usual . . .

2008-07-06T21:12:00.005-04:00

Psychic Kids

This show surprised me. I managed to catch one episode and, so far, I am of two minds about the program.

On the one hand, I'm glad that the psychic sensitivity of children is finally getting some attention. On the other, I'm uncomfortable with children being subjected to such intense media exposure when, clearly, in my opinion, they are not old enough to appreciate the later-in-life consequences of being so open. Certainly, it's entertaining; however, children can learn to be comfortable with themselves without doing so in front of a camera.

But, then again, according to the bio of Dr. Lisa Miller (co-host and psychologist), she works with "psychic kids and their parents to offer support and to clear a path for psychic children in our culture." I can support this idea. Perhaps the later-in-life consequences will be negligible since our culture does seem to be developing an open-mindedness where the paranormal is concerned.

Who knows? Maybe one day, people will put a capital "P" on their blogs or Facebook profiles to indicate that they're "out" as a psychic and proud of it.

Interestingly enough, my sister and I hadn't spoken for a while and today she asked: "Have you seen 'Psychic Kids'? I watched my first episode last night.

At any rate, it makes for capitivating television.

2008-06-28T22:28:00.010-04:00

Dead Television Shows

Dead Like Me lasted only two seasons but it was fantastic. It was created by Bryan Fuller (think Wonderfalls, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Star Trek: Voyager.)

George, the main character, having been killed in a freak accident, steps out of her body to find that she is, well, that she still IS. She has no choice but to live her dead-life as it becomes pretty ordinary but utterly fascinating.

I've noticed re-runs and you could probably catch an episode pretty easily. Otherwise, both seasons were released on DVD and they are well worth the purchase.

The humour is dry, biting; its timing is impeccable.

Fear and Folklore

Over the past year, until March, I was addicted to the first season of Ghost Whisperer though I hadn't seen an episode until after I'd stopped giving readings. Scully bought me the DVDs. My experiences do not match those of the main character, Melinda, and I think that is why I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the tone of the second season changed and it wasn't interesting to me at that point.

I haven't seen the other shows that involve the paranormal and don't really know their titles. I guess I've always been put off by the fact that televisionland perpetuates certain ideas of the supernatural that I simply have not experienced myself. Also, in the many hundreds of readings that I've done, not a single person had been hurt by a ghost nor knew of anyone who had been but almost everyone feared ghosts and believed that a "haunting" was something that had to be erradicated.

So, in my last post, when I spoke of "folklore-ish" aspects of ghost-filled movies, it is this to which I was referring. It's one thing to enjoy these movies (I loved Poltergeist) and television shows about the paranormal; it is quite another thing to be frightened of the paranormal because of such movies and shows.

Don't get me wrong: I still find some experiences unsettling but it is not due to a fear of harm. At night, when the toys start playing music and wake me up or when books defy gravity by falling and then resting on shelves at impossible angles, my heart starts racing until I've processed that something is happening. To me, the paranormal is very normal, just sometimes unexpected!

2008-06-27T19:17:00.008-04:00

Room 1408, please, with a view . . .

It took about a dozen attempts to watch the movie because, as you can (barely) see at the bottom of the image, my baby was with me and I could only watch the non-scary, mundane parts when she was around. I'm not sure how much information children retain at that age but I didn't want to take any chances. I was experimenting with the sepia-tone filter that day, too.

The movie was enjoyable even though it played to all the folklore-ish ideas about the supernatural and ghosts. But if you remember the lost-in-television, braces-going-wild drama of Poltergeist (1982) and would still watch it again, then you appreciate the folklore-ish aspect of things and should probably watch this film.

I have to say that I love Samuel Jackson and I think John Cusack is always brilliant.

2008-06-26T22:15:00.003-04:00

Rambling

I have so many -- more than a hundred -- questions from readers that have gone unanswered because I have been so busy. My older daughter has started summer vacation; my baby has just started walking. If I finish one cup of coffee in a day, I'm doing well. There really aren't enough hours in a day to do everything I want/need to do, but, I'm sure that everyone reading this can relate. After supper, I go to my second job: the 'health club' (which, as far as I can tell, is just a way of saying 'very expensive gym'). Ghostiegurl is trying to shed the pounds and generally get healthier.

The premonitions that I had years ago about my future featured myself as a heavy woman. I still have to try, though; sometimes, we seem to be able to change the outcome of things provided that we don't suddenly find ourselves living out the premonition. That has been my experience. But, it's difficult. I can't tell you the number of times that I've been in the midst of events when I've realized, "Oh, s*&@! I dreamt about this . . ." I don't have all -- or maybe any -- of the answers. Maybe there are things we simply can't change.

Sometimes, a predictive dream is really straightforward in its interpretation: such an event X will happen at point Y in time involving person A. At other times, the dreams feature a mixture of all the predictive elements but the setting is purely unrealistic. For example, after breaking up with a boyfriend, I dreamt of having two children and a husband and of living in a small town and receiving a message from my ex-boyfriend. Well, it happened recently. I was shocked to receive an email after 15 years of silence just a couple of months ago but all the elements had been in place. I call that a "comfort dream": though inconsolable at the time of the separation, my mind was telling me that I would hear from him again and placed the future communication in a broad context.

We'll have to see about the dreams in which I was heavy. It's hard to imagine because my hair -- very long with loads of spiral curls -- was short in the dreams and Scully hates the idea of me cutting my hair. I don't even feel inclined to do it.

At any rate, back to busy-ness. Giving up readings was hard to do but, in my schedule, something had to give. There's definitely a part of me that misses giving readings. The other evening, a friend requested that I give her one and I did. Believe it or not, my husband (aka 'Scully') occasionally asks for a reading. I like giving readings. I will do so again at some point.

2008-06-24T22:52:00.007-04:00

Not Gone But Maybe Forgotten!

It isn't really that things have been quiet around here for as long as my absence from the blog.

My house is periodically buzzing with ghost activity. Back in February, for example, every night for weeks, one or all of my baby's noise-making toys would be set off. One night, every single toy was blaring music across the hall from our bedroom in the nursery. One night, even I was freaked out and didn't get out of bed. Sometimes, the noise would come from Mini-me's room and she would come running out to tell me.

Just a few weeks ago, she told me about a man named "Cory" in her room who was looking for bad guys. He had a hard "green hat" and a gun and he was dirty. He also had a dog with him who helped him. When I asked if it frightened her, she said, "no" but she didn't think he would find any bad guys here. Then, just recently, I asked her if Cory was still around and she said that he had left to go to another family's house; in fact, to one of her friends' house, just to look after her for a while.

Premonitions are strong. But I've given up readings entirely because of the stress of childcare. I stopped after January, actually. I honestly had no clue before having the baby that trying to work inside the home as well as be a mother of two to very small children and work from home would be so difficult.

Lately, however, I've been able to read more often and I've come across some great titles that I intend to share at some point.

At any rate, I haven't disappeared. I guess I just needed a break.

2007-12-28T12:11:00.002-05:00

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, after everyone had just settled, I was alone in the living room. I scrolled through the music on our television/media centre and decided on Anne-Sophie Mutter's Beethoven pieces.

Within a second, I heard the Christmas tree behind me: it sounded as if it was shaking. I looked behind me and saw a single decorative bulb swinging wildly on the bottom branch and this was obviously the source of the noise. The bulb was swinging but ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER part of the tree -- including the branches -- was moving in even the smallest way.

As I sat there staring at the swinging bulb, it stopped just as suddenly as it had begun, but it wasn't a gradual loss of momentum: it simply stopped.

Immediately after it stopped, the same rattling sound came from beside me and in front of the sofa: I looked and saw that a frame on the mantlepiece had slid down and its picture -- of my grandmother as a girl and which had already had the word "me" written in her own hand just above her image -- had slipped out the top of the frame.

It was nice to know that my maternal grandmother was with me for the holiday.

2007-11-08T21:03:00.004-05:00

Just how dumb am I?

I recently posted elsewhere about my daughter's frequent discussion of "the witch":

"That's the witches' forest." She pointed to the sideyard of a smallish mansion on the way to school.
"Oh, it's very pretty."
"No, it's scary."

She's been talking a lot about witches lately.

The other day:

"I locked the witch in my room."
"You did?"
"Yes. That way, she can't come out and talk to me."

I hadn't known that she was having trouble with witches.

I was rather glib about what I'd assumed -- despite my (gulp) intuition -- to be the flight of her imagination.

Recently, when I thought about it, it occurred to me that my four-year-old hadn't had the same lilt in her voice as she does when she's making believe. So, at dinner time last evening, I casually approached the subject:

"You mentioned before that there's a witch in your room . . ."

"Yes. But she's trapped."

"She is?"

"Yes. She always says, 'Ah, let me out'."

"Oh. I see. Is she a witch or a ghost?"

"She wears a witch costume."

"She comes to play with me. She doesn't share. She hits and throws toys."

"Do you like it when she comes to play?"

"No," she said quite seriously. "She disturbs me."

"She does?"

"Yes. She always sleeps on my bed. In the mornings."

"Does that bother you?"

"No."

"Oh, that's good."

"It just scares me."

"Does she speak to you?"

"Yes, she always calls me."

"Did you first see her before Halloween or after?"

"Before."

"What's her name?"

"It's a 'Sah, sah, sah' [sounding out an 'S'] sound..."

"Like Cecilia...Sarah?"

"It's Sarah!!" She was happy that I'd guessed it.

More today:

"Is she big like Mummy or small like you?" I asked her while we cuddled this morning.

"Small like me."

"Did she ask you not to tell your Mummy and Daddy that she comes to play?"

"Yes," she said, almost embarrassed. "But I said, 'I have to'."

"Wow. You did the right thing." I kissed her cheek. "You tell Mummy and Daddy everything. No secrets."

I had to follow up with the "witch's forest".

"You said that it was the witch's forest yesterday, when we walked to school."

"Yes, Mummy. That's where she lives. Wait, I think I hear her...Oh, no. That's just the baby."

She's told us more about "the witch"--whom she thinks is about two years old--voluntarily and when questioned. Some of it:

"She didn't go out trick-or-treating."

"She didn't?"

"No. She was too late [when she came over]."

Wow. I made such a common mistake, one that I've often warned clients about: I assumed my daughter was 'making up' a friend or a character and she was actually talking about a ghost.

Shame on me!

2007-10-31T21:45:00.003-04:00

A fitting Hallowe'en post

Today, something very unusual happened. I lay the baby in her cot beside my bed and left to wash her bottles. From the kitchen downstairs, I could hear her laughing uproariously. She wasn't giggling or babbling as she normally would: She was laughing heartily and squealing with delight. And it was LOUD.

I walked upstairs and her behaviour continued. The temperature, I noted, had fallen in the room. I got the impression that someone -- someone I don't know -- was around her. She was "looking" at something during all this. When my husband came up -- at my request -- he was as surprised as I was. He noted that it was cold in the room and, the scientist that he is, chalked it up to wind coming through the closed window (it holds the air conditioner, so that's a plausible guess.)

"I think a relative from your father's side is around her," I told him.

"Could be," he shrugged.

Moments after he left, the room warmed up and the baby stopped laughing. All the while, a name had been floating around my head. I ran out of the room, down the stairs and straight to the basement.

"Did you have a relative named Mary Margaret on your father's side?" I'd never looked at his genealogy project.

"Yes...I think she was his great aunt."

"That's who is around her."

2007-10-25T23:28:00.001-04:00

Catching up a bit...

Strange things have been happening lately. Besides the usual, that is.

Last evening, I noticed that my husband had placed a newly-received wedding photo of his parents on the mantlepiece. Well, it didn't really fit in with all the other frames in that area. My scheme is black-and-white and the photo is colour, 1950s; my frames are gold trimmed and the photo is framed with brown wood. So, I took it down from the mantlepiece and placed it on the radiator, face down.

Later tonight, as I went into the living room to grab my laptop, I looked above the fireplace: on the mantlepiece--the opposite side of the now removed photo--a double frame of my husband's paternal grandparents was (1) face down and (2) upside down. Clearly, it could not have simply fallen over: It would have had to have fallen and then turned around. It's possible someone is trying to tell me something.

Well, it's my living room and if one of his grandparents is upset, that's too bad! I haven't had any impressions of his grandparents, so I don't know...

Also, I hear 'Mummy' being called, extremely faintly, when anyone old enough to speak is actually out of the house. My baby is only 6 months old. It's happened at least twice a day but I haven't paid much attention to it. Maybe I should.

I keep seeing someone standing near the garage but it's only out of the corner of my eye. If I look there, the image is gone. Mostly, ghosts come in my dreams and my dreams have been a bit 'noisy' lately.

I remember when my older daughter was quite a bit younger, she used to talk about "Ollie", the little boy, who lived in the backyard in my turn-of-the-century potting shed. She doesn't talk about ghosts anymore.

My husband says he often thinks he sees our deceased cat on the stairs in the basement for a split second and, when he looks again, the image is gone.

When I was pregnant, we had plumbers come in to fix the pipes in the basement bathroom. My husband tells me that one of them pointblankly asked him: "Who's really into ghosts around here?"

To which my husband replied: "Oh, that's my wife. She's a well-known psychic."

I apologize for the delay in responding to the dozens of emails that I receive. With a new baby, it's hard to find spare time. I will get to them, tho'.

2007-09-06T22:48:00.001-04:00

The Problem of Privacy

Over the summer, I revisited an issue that I'd once put on the back burner, shoving it nervously away from the fore after making a resolution: When I have an impression of someone -- negative or not -- I will not just announce it to the person; I will store it away and try to forget about it.

Why? Though some people have asked if it's because I'm not working at the time and therefore wouldn't get paid for sharing the intuition, it's actually because of a sense of privacy that I avoid announcing my impressions. What right do I have to just intrude on what could very well be a private issue that isn't meant to be confided?

A friend of mine visited and told me that she and her husband had postponed plans to conceive a child. Immediately, I had the sense that she was already pregnant and the impression just got stronger.

When I received the news of the impending birth, I was overjoyed and confided my first impressions then. As it turns out, my friend would not have felt that her privacy was being invaded if I'd shared the intuition.

It's an issue with which I've struggled for some time.

2007-09-04T13:42:00.003-04:00

Visiting Baby

Whenever I come down to my office, a ghost run across the floor directly above me. It happens each and every time!

It's the ghost of a child and the running is at full speed. I get the impression that he wants to see the baby.

Harmless, I know, but it makes me a little uncomfortable.

2007-07-04T21:05:00.002-04:00

Update

I've really missed writing here. I just got so busy with my new daughter (Mimi) and my other daughter (Gigi) and . . . and . . . my recovery from surgery was, therefore, not going very well.

I've recently acquired a few novels about which I'd like to write here once I'm finished reading them and I will.

That's another feature that I've always intended to add to this blog: book reviews.

Also, I've received many questions by email and I will get to them all as soon as I can but there is a bit of a backlog...

It's nice to see that people still read even though I took a hiatus for my pregnancy.

2007-06-11T08:57:00.002-04:00

Hiatus Over

OK, I'm back.

It's amazing to me that I'm always struggling to keep up with everything. While I wouldn't say that having two children is difficult, it does keep you extremely busy.

One day, I'll read again. One day, I'll write again. One day, maybe one day, I'll sleep again.

In the meantime, I've continued to book reading appointments into February 2008.

By the way, does anyone still read this blog???

2007-03-29T20:10:00.001-04:00

Dear Ghostiegurl:

We have experimented with a kind of "game". It consisted of calling a soul which would give us answers, even predicting the future.

The alphabet, numbers from 0-9, yes/no, and goodbye were written on pieces of paper and put on the table forming a circle. A plastic glass with our fingers on it was being moved by that spirit to give us the answers.

I don`t know the name of this "game" but it used to be very exact in giving answers about the past. I would like to know the name of this game and if it is dangerous. I heard some people who tried it lost some family members. It might have been a coincidence or maybe not.........Please give me some answers.

Answer:

You're talking about a handmade version of the talking board, a method of divination/spirit communication that dates back to ancient times.

It is believed to be an easy way of establishing a connection with the ghost world, especially for people who aren't naturally aware of such a connection. In the 19th century, fascination with the spirit world and communication therewith grew--in the form of the spiritualism movement--and some now-famous people got swept up in what was essentially considered a parlour pastime.

It was popularized in the 19th century but it was marketed in the early 20th century in the most recognizable form of a board-and-planchette game by Kennard Novelty Company and William Fuld's company, to name a couple. Parker Brothers acquired William Fuld's company in the 1960s and produced "The Ouija Board". (Since 1999, it has been a very different-looking product.) There are other companies that produced talking boards under different names and, today, different religious groups have other names for it.

Beliefs about talking boards run to both ends of the spectrum: some believe that it's not a game, that it's very dangerous. In a religious context, it has been labelled "an instrument of the devil" or the playground of demons. At the other end of the spectrum, some people believe that the planchette or message indicator is moved, subconsciously or consciously, by one or more of the participants in the game and that the predictions/answers are actually an expression of the participant's or participants' subconscious.

There is a good collection of literature on the subject of the talking board, each piece detailing anecdotes or techniques or warnings. Perhaps the most famous is the early-20th-century tale of Patience Worth; she was believed to be a spirit--apparently contacted by Pearl Lenore Curran --who produced poetry and novels.

Whether or not to use a talking board is, of course, a personal decision and I, personally, don't like them and don't advocate their use. Why? Because I believe that ghosts are everywhere and those that wish to help us are already doing so.

Many people report false information, vulgar language and insults in their experience with talking boards while a very few relate positive experiences to me. In my years of providing readings to people, I have found that many people are very curious to use one but are afraid to do so. I have never received firsthand or even second-hand stories of injury or fatalities and I've read for hundreds of people.

2007-03-22T17:29:00.001-04:00

Not Too Much Longer...

I'm near the end of my pregnancy now and I have even less of a lap on which to rest my computer than I did last week.

My pregnancy has been pretty difficult and posting regularly has been next to impossible. So, posting the many questions that I receive by email and answering them has been a good alternative.

Once the baby is born, I'll post more.

2007-03-16T18:47:00.001-04:00

Dear Ghostiegurl:

This happened to me when I was five years old.

I´d been lying on my bed for a long time, and all of a sudden this glowing green human-shaped thing came in my room. He walked around for a while. When I tried to get up and run away, he walked right to the bed, sat next to me and tried to touch me or something like that but disappeared.

I want to know if that was real, or at least if it could have happened. My mother and grandmother both can see dead people and all that stuff.

Thanks.

Answer:

Green seems to be a common colour when it comes to the orb that you sometimes see before a figure appears, in my experience at least. You saw the residual green glow of the orb as the figure became more strongly human-looking, though you didn't see the original orb itself.

I believe that a spirit guide was reaching out to you to let you know that he was looking out for you.

2007-03-04T20:42:00.002-05:00

Dear Ghostiegurl:

. . . I'm hoping you can offer me some quick advice regarding my infant and the other inhabitants of my 112-year-old house.

Since my husband moved in early last year, there's been an energy shift in my house -I can no longer sense "the others" as strongly as I used to, perhaps due to the distraction of another living being within the walls. It's been such a whirlwind year with the wedding, pregnancy and birth of my daugther that I hadn't given the ghosts a second thought. But in the past few days even my husband is beginning to notice unusual things in the baby's room - closet door opening by itself, objects having been moved, baby following something with her eyes or staring at "nothing".

As I become more aware of things in her room, my senses seem to be awakening to where I can feel a stronger presence throughout the house. After having my house cleansed a few years ago due to some problems with negative energy, I haven't had any worries about lingering entities (I get a little creeped out by the thought of them at all to be honest and would rather NOT know they are there). But, now with a baby in the house and memories of scary dealings of my own when I was a small child, I worry that the ghosts may cause her fear or confusion. It could be why she mysteriously wakes up for long stretches between 2 and 4 am and seems a little too wide-eyed for a baby who had just been sleeping peacefully.

I'd prefer none of us had any interaction with or awareness of them - but since that's not possible, what can I do to protect my baby from any potential negativity or disturbances? I don't want to call in some big "ghost hunting" team since the matter does cause me a fair amount of fear and I prefer to be blissfully ignorant as to how many others I share my home with. I prefer to discuss the matter with someone who can help reduce my own fear and provide me some tips on how to protect the most important life force in my world.

Thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to offer. Best wishes for the rest of your pregancy.

Answer:

I think that fear is an understandable, instinctive response to the unknown but I believe that it can be overcome. Unless they're around specifically to help you, ghosts usually have little interest in your life. It just so happens that babies and small children are extraordinarily sensitive to that part of our existence and often see what adults cannot detect. (Sometimes, invisible friends are only invisible to adults!)

As regular readers already know (and I do think that I should repeat it here), I usually try to help people become more comfortable with their usually-unseen guests. After all, it's my opinion that there are ghosts everywhere and that all homes have ghosts.

If your daughter sees that you're afraid, she'll likely fear ghosts, too; if you discuss the fear with her and help her to know that it's normal but not necessary, she'll grow comfortable. If you're able to do it, an open dialogue about her experiences as she grows -- i.e., normalizing the experiences -- would actually help her to retain the ability to detect ghosts throughout her life.

I believe that we all have 'spirit' guides -- ghosts that come around us to help us and watch over us.

You're clearly uncomfortable, however, with the idea that ghosts may be around your baby, so assure yourself that you can ask ghosts to leave and you may also simply set boundaries: no entering this or that room, no being around while you're around, stay away from baby, etc. You can set these boundaries simply by announcing them aloud. You do not need a "ghost hunting" team to come into your home or a psychic to come into your home in order to do this.

At any rate, please keep me posted.

2007-02-24T13:38:00.001-05:00

Dear Ghostiegurl:

I was wondering do you see souls that have passed or do you only have weird things happen to you? I have had weird things happen to me all my life. It started when I was young seeing what I call 'shadow people' in homes or in the yards. Now that I'm older not only do I see shadow people but I also see people walking through my home, running in my yard.

It used to not upset me until they started to look more mutilated... I've asked them to leave but they never seem to go away. It's not always the same person either. I worked at a dentist office and in one room the lights would flicker; and, when I was there by myself the radio would turn on by its self and the creepy thing would be it was unplugged. No matter what station it was on it would play 'oldies but goldies'. I even have pictures of me at this job that the dentist took and there's reddish orange blobs around me. I'm from Ms and when I try to ask any one about what has happened, they always change the subject. I feel that i'm going kind of nutty, can you give any help?

Answer:

I've always seen/had ghosts around me and I've always had premonitions, precognitions, etc. happen to me. I've never seen "mutilated" ghosts at all. I don't know what to make of that. I grew up around ghosts and became quite comfortable as did my entire family-of-origin.

In all the investigations that I've done, I've advised people that it's better to learn to live with the ghosts and become comfortable with them. I just don't believe in rituals designed to get ghosts to leave. If the situation is uncomfortable, or if you live in constant fear, you may try to ask again. Or, you may simply ask them not to appear while you're around. If they're aware of you at all, in my experience, they usually listen. If they don't seem aware of you at all, ever, then you may just be getting impressions of the past instead of seeing actual ghosts.

In my experience, some ghosts use electrical appliances such as lights, tv, telephone and radio in order to make themselves known.

As you've no doubt experienced, it's not possible to talk about ghosts or psychic phenomena with everyone; in fact, many people are either too frightened, too skeptical, or too quick to judge someone as mentally ill. This kind of conversation can be liberating, so I hope you have or find some kindred friends and I'm glad that you wrote.

--Ghostiegurl

2007-02-22T23:45:00.001-05:00

Catch Up

I can't believe how many people have already booked appointments for exactly one year from now.

One of the clients who booked said, "You're really popular."

It kind of makes me feel pressured to resume readings but, as my husband points out, I could always cancel the appointments and tell people that I won't be giving readings anymore.

Then, again, I may really want to do readings at that point. We'll see. . .

Through the fog that pregnancy has induced around my brain, I'm still able to see some things. Actually, I'm intuiting.

It's a close relative's new boyfriend. I don't trust him. I can't even bring myself to meet him. There's something not right there . . . This close relative -- close in the sense that we speak often -- can't understand my reluctance.

I've told her of my impression in this respect but she disagrees, even though I predicted his arrival in her life a couple of months before he actually appeared.

2007-02-06T14:01:00.002-05:00

Just Moments Ago...

Gigi was lying down for her nap and I could hear from downstairs that she was finally silent.

As I started to allow myself to drift off, a sudden, loud bang startled me. I called up to Gigi and she was OK. (I almost ran upstairs but I'm not able to do this very quickly since I'm 6+ months pregnant. It was actually quicker to glean information from communication.)

"What was that noise?"
"I don't know."
"Was it in Mummy's bedroom or your bedroom?"
"My bedroom."
"You don't know what happened?"
"No, but Arthur [her talking doll] started talking very loudly and it woke me up."
"OK, where's Arthur now?"
"In my hand."
"Take him back to bed and go for a nap."
"OK, Mummy."

She was unfazed. I didn't want to alarm her by suggesting that anything bad or scary had happened. I still don't know what made that loud bang.

2007-01-11T23:25:00.001-05:00

Update

I'm taking time off from readings to have my baby and then to care for my baby. I'm giving readings to the last clients over the next month-and-a-half. I've announced that I'll be back next year but, honestly, I don't know if I will be.

I'm tired of giving readings now. I think I'm burnt out again. I read an article in New York Magazine that described being burnt out as a battery that no longer holds its charge. That's how I feel.

I will continue to write here about my experiences -- and more frequently than has been usual--and, probably, I will give readings once I've had my baby.

2006-12-08T00:28:00.004-05:00

A Bad Day

It has been difficult to write for the past few months since I use a laptop and it's no longer possible to keep it on my lap.

At any rate, I couldn't fail to write about what happened early this evening as my Gigi and I waited for Scully to return home.

I was in the living room when she started crying, wailing even. She yelled something about not wanting to be alone.

I ran up the stairs to find tears streaming down her face. She was saying that nobody was around. When I asked her what was the matter, she told me that her television had come on by itself and it scared her.

The television was now off. Her VCR was mysteriously rewinding a tape. She can't reach the VCR and we hadn't had a movie in the machine at all today.

I scooped her up and we sat at the top of the stairs together.

"I need to sit and just calm down, Mummy."

She explained again what happened as I comforted her.

I turned to the room and said sternly:

"You leave my daughter alone. If you cannot stop scaring my child, you are not welcome here."

Gigi was visibly relieved.

2006-10-26T22:23:00.002-04:00

The Pregnant Psychic

The day before I even thought of testing for pregnancy, we went to pick up my daughter from school.

In the parking lot, as I was holding onto her hand, she declared:

"I'm going to be a big sister!"

No kidding.

2006-10-10T10:05:00.001-04:00

The Helpful Wife

Scully tromped through the wilderness with his friends over the weekend, canoeing an hour-and-a-half to his campsite. He was completely out of reach of cellphones and email.

On the way home, he called me from a payphone:

"I should be home within a few hours."

"OK. Wait...I have an impression." A terrifying image followed a mental picture of my husband but I knew that he would be fine.

"There's going to be a very bad accident on the way back but it doesn't involve you or your friends."

"It already happened. A car was half-submerged in the lake."

"Oh. OK." It didn't feel like the accident I was talking about, but, hey, how could I be sure?

When he got home that evening, he told me: "Some guy decided to walk out into traffic... It was a huge accident! Cars piled up, etc." This happened after talking to me.

I honestly don't know why some people think that crossing a highway is, well, even possible. But, there you have it, someone did and the consequent mess delayed Scully's arrival by about two hours.

2006-09-26T08:08:00.001-04:00

On The Phone

I'd been telling my sister for the past few months that her best friend had something wrong with her stomach. Something wasn't right.

Last week, the doctor found something: a bacterial infection.

"You were right," my sister said.

2006-09-21T13:45:00.001-04:00

Nice

When clients take the time to tell me how my predictions turned out, I always appreciate it. I mean, people usually just tell other people which -- don't get me wrong -- is a good thing.

I recently helped a client get in touch with a long-lost relative by giving her the name of someone who knew where he was and in which city he could be found. She wrote to tell me that it all played out exactly as I said it would, names and all, and that she was now in touch with the relative.

She was so grateful. I felt all . . . I don't know, just so happy that I could help.

2006-08-29T20:34:00.002-04:00

All Apologies

My absence is inexcusable. I've just been busy both personally and professionally. Still, I should have popped in at least once before now.

Stresses have piled up on top of me and, when that happens, I end up feeling disinclined to write. I should write.

Well, the other day, my daughter and I went to the local bookstore and bought a few interesting titles. Eva Ibbotson's The Beasts of Clawstone Castle caught my eye:

When Madlyn and Rollo are sent to ancient Clawstone Castle they fell in love with it --- especially with the mysterious white creatures that roam the grounds. But the owners are practically penniless and the castle is crumbling away. A magnificent money-making plan is Clawstone's only hope.

Helped by a gang of hilarious ghosts -- including a one-eyed skeleton, a sawn-in-half circus girl and a pair of dancing feet -- the children turn Clawstone into a genuine haunted house! Soon the money is rolling in, but just as things start looking up a terrible fate befalls the beasts. Madlyn, Rollo and their phantom friends now face some very sinister enemies...

We have thousands of children's books and I shouldn't be buying anymore right now but, then, I decided that it would be a good addition.

MacMillan Children's Books
Trade Paperback
London (2005)
232 pp

Note:
The Sunday Times
May 15, 2005
Children's book of the week

2006-08-21T05:10:00.003-04:00

This weekend

We went to a festival specifically meant for children. There were many activities/stations for preschoolers including a mat full of 'gymboree' toys. Gigi was unimpressed.

She played in a tiny pool filled with toys. She sat at a table and played with an Etch-a-Sketch-like toy. Finally, there was a travelling caravan comprised of instruments which she loved and which was the source of a tantrum.

The sky threatened rain the entire time. So, we headed off to grab hotdogs and make the 10-minute walk back to the car.

2006-08-15T16:26:00.001-04:00

My Lips Are Sealed

You know my ethical guideline about not discussing clients or the details of the sessions when clients come to see me?

Sometimes, I really wish I could. But, I can't.

Friday went very well. I know that I have to confirm my next batch of clients now...

2006-08-08T17:52:00.002-04:00

Ghost Baby

I'm lying in my bed, barely able to open my eyes after a deep nap. My baby (OK, my preschooler) is sleeping in her room, too.

I can hear my sister approaching on the stairs and she starts to head into my daughter's room.

"Where are you going?" I whisper
"The baby's awake." She says, pointing to the room.
"No, she's still sleeping." The room is silent.
"I swear I heard her!"
"You heard the ghost baby."

2006-08-07T18:07:00.001-04:00

Never Say Never

I gave in and did a reading for my sister last night. It was her birthday and it made her feel good to know that I was willing to try. It actually went very well. Ah, it softened the blow of turning 30 . . . though that was so long ago for me that I can't remember the pain.

The hard part about reading for family and friends is the ability to be objective. Still, somehow, being close to my sister -- she's my best friend -- actually helped last night.

2006-08-03T20:59:00.003-04:00

A House of Sound

I apologize for the absence. Life happens so . . . quickly.

My house has been kind of quiet as far as ghosts are concerned. After telling a particularly annoying ghost to leave (who, last month, despite a fantastic security system, opened a door to the outside sometime before we all woke up ), there has been nothing very significant around here.

Well, nothing, that is, except for some intermittent banging and loud 'thumps' and the sound of a baby crying. Scully -- who is also my biggest fan -- tried to convince me that the loud sounds originate at a construction site. I know they don't.

My maternal grandmother is making herself known. I don't actually get along with my mother and, about the time that this bout of activity began, we'd had a pretty heated exchange. We are still not really speaking.

As for the baby crying? That's new to me. I heard it just after waking up one evening and it was easy to dismiss as a sleep-related event after I realized that it wasn't my daughter. It's extremely faint and I think my sister heard it, too. (Needless to say, my sister tells me that sleeping over at my house really freaks her out at times. Considering that she's so skittish, I'm shocked that she actually does stay over.)

The only thing that has caused me to raise an eyebrow is my daughter's insistence that she hears noises in her room every night. I've been in a number of times to try to hear them and I haven't detected anything. There used to be squirrels and raccoons climbing around on the roof but, again, I haven't heard them. They may still be there but I think she's hearing something else.

Interestingly, my sister pointed out that my paternal grandfather -- whom I met only 2 or 3 times throughout my childhood -- had the name of Alfred (see here and here). The impressions that I have of the ghost look nothing like my memories of my grandfather: he is young with dark brown/black hair and he wears a white t-shirt. He has a sense of humour and is pretty laid back.

2006-07-21T11:00:00.002-04:00

What's Been Going On...

On Monday, we kept hearing large "thumps" around the house. Scully explained that they were the products of construction work next door. I didn't agree. I spend everyday in this house -- right beside the construction -- and, what I heard was the sound of a heavy box being dropped on the front porch.

I was in the bath when I first heard it and thought, "F---! I missed the Purolator guy!" (OK, I swear when I speak to myself.) As I'd stepped into the bath that morning, I'd forgotten about the possibility of delivery. I was awaiting the arrival of the rest of my daughter's birthday gifts and was worried that I'd have to go pick up a large box at a postal outlet with a toddler and a stroller.

Anyway, I jumped out, got dressed and ran downstairs: there was nothing.

The thump occurred at least a few times again throughout the day and I ignored it.

What was very frightening to me -- and it is very unusual for me to be afraid -- happened as I was trying to rest in my bedroom while the baby slept. The air conditioners in our rooms were on but I heard the sound of my living room door open and shut (a door that leads to the enclosed porch).

"Hello?" I called out, leaning over the upstairs railing. Why? I don't know. It's not as if I think a burglar would shout back or anything but what else do you do?

A second later, I slipped down the stairs, ready to close a door or to call 9-1-1, only to discover that all three front doors were securely latched. In fact, the doors leading to the porch have an old-fashioned style of lock that requires much more digital manipulation than those of today. It would be impossible to open these doors from the outside.

Confused, for some reason I chose to ignore my impressions of my maternal grandmother and of another, different ghost. I mean, I saw them but just didn't think about them. It was the day of this grandmother's birthday (which I'd also forgot).

That night, with sufficient responsibilities to erase all-but-essential data from my mind, I went to bed after locking up and arming the house.

On Tuesday morning, I awoke and went downstairs. I couldn't help but scream. The porch door in the dining room was wide open!! How long had it been open? Anything could have happened to my baby, to us, throughout the night.

Scully came down to investigate, assured me that it must have been unlocked but I was unconvinced. I know that I'd locked that door. I know that I didn't open the dining room door at all throughout the previous days.

I believe that my grandmother is here but it's not her behaviour because the activity is uncharacteristic of other visits to others in my family. Someone else is here, somebody more . . . annoying.

Just the other day, last Thursday, I was doing laundry and waiting patiently for my load to finish. After an hour it occurred to me that I hadn't actually heard my washing machine in the longest time.

When I went down to the laundry room, I was astonished to find that the lid to the machine was up -- which means that the machine won't run -- and, thinking that I'd been careless and forgot to actually start the laundry, I went over to put the lid down.

At the panel, I saw that the load was actually almost finished -- meaning, that the load had been interrupted -- and the knob had been pressed down (which means the machine was turned off).

I hadn't been down there at all. My daughter doesn't go down to the basement without myself or my husband and there's no way that she could have reached the machine's lid anyway even if she'd stood on a chair.

So, in the end, I'd forgotten again who I am and what I actually do for a living: If there's one thing I've learnt in the past twenty or so years, when you're doing renovations, activity increases.

2006-07-15T15:59:00.005-04:00

The Cat

At ballet class last week, all the dancers were asked if they had pets.

"Yes, I have a pet. I have a cat. It's orange."
"What's his name?"
"Darfy."

Gigi has often spoken of Darfy (whose name is her pronunciation of 'Garfield') and, very recently, I came to the conclusion that it is her imaginary friend.

Scully has told me a few stories over the past couple of weeks that Gigi has related to him. I remember vaguely hearing something about Darfy rolling around and around on her bed.

This means, of course, that I forgot who I am and what I actually do for a living until my sister asked a very poignant question:

"Could she be seeing Avery?"

Avery had been my cat since 1996. He died last year, suddenly, in August. He was, of course, orange. Now, I had to know.

"Gigi, do you have a cat?"
"Yes."
"What's his name?"
"Darfy."
"What does he look like?"
"He's orange."
"Oh, where do you see him?"
"He sleeps on my bed. I tickle his tummy."

This goes to show that you're never too old to learn. Or to be humbled, for that matter. I've never believed in 'animal ghosts' before now. I'd always thought that, if you get the impression of an animal, it's either at a distance (and the cat is alive) or it's in the past. She may very well be seeing Avery.

"Do you still see Fred?"
"No, he left my home."
"He did? Where did he go?"
"He had to go to another place."

2006-07-14T00:00:00.001-04:00

The Case of the Crystal Skull

OK, remember when I said that I don't stare at crystal balls? Well, that isn't to say that I haven't stared at them.

I have never owned a ball but a former friend of mine in the university days had one. He wasn't psychic to any appreciable degree but he did have a lot of money. He believed in magic of sorts (and I don't). Unfortunately, he spoke altogether too often about Aleistair Crowley for my comfort. In the days that seemed so distant from our common goal of graduation, we met in the evenings and our quiet friendship lasted about four years.

But I've digressed.

I saw it sitting on a glass shelf in his immaculate apartment. He took it down protectively, placed it on the carpet and showed it to me. I think I stared at it for half a second and thought, Poor guy! He's been taken.

Not wanting him to feel stupid, I said:

"Is it supposed to have an image of a skull in it?"

I've never seen fear or shock grip somebody so quickly. His brown eyes stared back at me and I thought, for certain, that I was seeing fear. No, shock. Both? (I couldn't tell which since, if you think about it, they look pretty similar.) He quickly covered the ball up and put it back in its box. Needless to say, I was completely confused.

"You're joking, right?" He asked.

I shrugged. "No. It looked like a green-greyish skull and it looked like it was manufactured that way." His reaction was bothering me. I truly believed in its earthly origin; he was a scientist, why didn't he?

"I've been staring at it for hours and I've never seen anything... I don't want you to look at it anymore."

Umm, I thought, OK.

So, there you have it: my first and only time staring at a crystal ball. What happened that night? I don't know. I'd obviously seen something he'd wanted to see but what was it? I don't know and he jealously guarded the crystal ball, never allowing me to look into it again.

2006-07-13T11:13:00.003-04:00

Scary and Good

Anyway, many of you have asked me for details and I think it's time to dish. I want to tell you about the scariest reading that I've ever done. Well, let me rephrase that: I want to tell you about the reading that frightened me the most.

It happened about eight years before I started reading professionally. I'd always read for friends and acquaintances for free. The settings varied: Sometimes they were done at my home, in the university cafeteria (I think) or a cafe.

An acquaintance of mine always wanted a reading and I think I generally declined. One day, in a cafe, I gave in and pulled out my cards. (By the way, cards aren't necessary).

As I lay out the cards, I could feel a familiar anxiety rising in my chest. Voices around me became indistinct as I focussed more clearly on the task at hand.

The reading went along pretty smoothly: I told him about his past and what was going on in the present very accurately. Then, I saw it:

"You're going to be going on an unexpected trip really soon!" I felt a sense of urgency.

"Flying," I continued. "It could be just a couple of days away but it actually looks like a couple of hours away."

He looked puzzled. "Really? Why?"

I didn't know how to tell him so I just said, "It's family-related." Gawd, I had such a sense of dread.

The next day, I didn't think anything about not seeing him. I didn't see him everyday. I didn't even know him very well. I just went about my secretarial job and went home. Days followed days, of course, until I saw him again.

"You were right," he said, a look of fear spread across his face.

"What?"

"You were right. About the reading. After working that day, I went home and went to bed. In the middle of the night, my family got a phone call from the ---- coast. My grandmother died... We flew out the next day."

I found this frightening for some reason. These days, it's quite commonplace but I was jolted right then. I didn't want to read anymore for anyone.

Of course, you know that I did keep reading but, when I started doing it professionally, I actually called myself the 'reluctant psychic'.

***

Generally, since my appointments come via word-of-mouth for the most part, people leave pretty satisfied with the reading.

The times that make it seem very worthwhile are those during which clients go out of their way to let you know that they enjoyed the reading, like when they tell you they've been talking about you on the radio or want to do so or when they ask to take all of your business cards (which reminds me: Print up more business cards). Yesterday was just such a day.

I don't need the publicity but it makes me feel . . . I don't know, good and much more enthusiastic about my job.

2006-07-08T22:04:00.002-04:00

All Walks, Just Thoughts

Honestly, getting back to work, I'm not as enthusiastic as I'd hoped to be but I wouldn't say that I'm burnt out anymore.

I can't believe the number of people that I've met: politicians, doctors (academic, medical, and veterinary), lawyers, strippers, heroin/coke addicts, waitresses, psychics, television producers, abuse survivors, depressed people, psychopathic people, psychotic people, social workers, sales reps, horse trainers, carpenters, authors, teachers, dental hygenists . . .

Life is full of interesting folk. My job has taught me that more than anything else. (I also see just how rare psychopaths really are. Of all the hundreds of people I've met, I believe I've only ever come across one. )

I don't think I began giving readings specifically to help people. When I began to see that I was helping people in my own peculiar way, it felt good. I liked it.

When I see signs that I'm helping, I want to keep doing it.

I know that I'm different from other psychics, probably because I'm so strongly convinced that my ability -- whatever you call it -- is biologically based and not the product of some strange confluence of ether and crystal (not -- cough -- that there's anything wrong with that).

I have spiritual beliefs and I don't think biology precludes spiritual reality. I see ghosts and the past and the future because my brain works that way: It enables me to see what others may not. I feel what others feel, even after they've left a room or when they're on the other end of the telephone.

I don't stare at crystal balls; I don't think tarot cards hold any inherent power. I don't think that I'm special. I think I get information and I, ultimately, don't know why except that this is connected to neurochemical events originating in my brain.

All this being said, I hope that my brain works effectively enough to help me drive in the days ahead. I am relinquishing my status as one of life's pedestrians. As my child ages, I realize that I need to be able to get her to her art class, ballet class, keyboard class . . . Somehow, I foresee it only gets busier from this point on.

2006-06-25T14:16:00.002-04:00

Your Opinion

I've been blogging in relative anonymity. This blog in particular has received a great deal of attention.

Often, I receive email from people who would like me to give readings to them.

I've been tossing the idea around: On the one hand, I don't want to make this blog commercial; on the other hand, I'm turning down many requests from people who truly want readings from me.

Should I reveal my identity and offer readings from this blog? Looking for feedback.

2006-06-09T15:35:00.001-04:00

Vacation Time

I'm tired. I only have two more readings until my three-week vacation starts (and these are booked for today).

I think I'm burning out. I think that I should want to do readings but, lately, I don't want to think about anything.

It could be that I've been extraordinarily busy at home. After my vacation, however, I believe that I'll be enthusiastic again. I've been doing this professionally for a few years or more now. I see a pattern: I'm busy, I get burnt out, and then I rest.

There's something I want to write about here but it'll have to wait until tonight since I have to do my readings now.

2006-06-08T18:32:00.003-04:00

Where Is The Love?

So, I’m sitting at the supper table with my daughter and she’s insisting that she’s not hungry, trying to delay bedtime, long after Scully and I have finished the meal.

I can’t help ruminating: My paternal grandmother visited my brother for years and my maternal grandmother still visits and guides my sister. Neither of the two visits me! There have been a couple of isolated incidents. I see ghosts for other people ALL THE TIME but not my own grandmothers?

My preschooler daughter is pushing food around in her bowl while asking me to not be upset that she’s not eating. Distractedly, I assure her that I’m only upset because I love her and I don’t want her to be hungry while we’re all sleeping. Besides, I’m not really upset; I’m worried. By now, I must be staring into space.

“Yes!” I think, “One should have visited me by now!”

Suddenly, the A-string on my guitar — across the room — sounds beautifully and I’m stirred from my thoughts. The very interesting part? The note does not run its course; it stops less than halfway through.

2006-06-02T15:08:00.001-04:00

Helping Out

I often wish that I didn't see dead people, especially when I'm asked to help one without really knowing how or why. Sometimes, however, the reason for the request becomes known to me in interesting ways.

Last week, a friend of mine came to me and asked me to find out how he died.

Without having had any of the details of his death confirmed, I strongly suspected that he'd committed suicide. I hadn't seen him in the years before he died -- we'd fallen out of touch -- and I didn't know anything about what had happened.

So, the other night, I sat watching television after midnight. Suddenly, his image kept appearing to me and I tried not to think about him. When I finally gave up or gave in -- I don't know which -- he said, "Find out how I died."

I thought, How do I do that?

Well, without saying I would do so, I went online and found some reports. Apparently, officially, it's said that his death was an accident but I don't believe it. I do, however, believe that he took his own life, now more so than ever.

I get the impression that his request was for me, not for him. He didn't need a mystery to be solved, etc. He wanted me to know, but why?

I believe that he saved my life once, shortly after dying (though I didn't know that he had died at the time). I had fallen asleep with -- gulp -- a cigarette in my hand (back in the days when I smoked). I woke up because a man called my name, my first name. The cigarette had burnt through two layers of blanket and was about to burn my pajamas. When I woke up, I couldn't place the voice but I knew that I KNEW it.

The voice had been loud and had yelled my name directly in my ear. I know now who it was. Since researching in the media to find out what happened, I can place the date on which I was saved from imminent burns after his own death by some months.

He's with me, at least sometimes. It's nice to know.

2006-06-01T21:10:00.001-04:00

Ghost Stories

Things have been so quiet, lately. Even my dreams are pretty mundane. I can't seem to watch TV and I always have my nose in a book or magazine. In my spare time, I'm writing or reading and this isn't to say that I've had a lot of spare time.

The "channelling" experience happens more and more to me, too often to write everything down. I don't always pay much attention to it, either. Like so much of my experience in this regard, it has become commonplace.

I remember a fascination with the paranormal while growing up that manifested itself in a desire to read everything that I could. I see now that it was an attempt to understand what was going on. I needed to know that others experienced the same!

When you grow up watching fans having been turned on (while the switch remains in the 'off' position), hearing ghost children running up the stairs and singing, and having ghosts tap you on the head, it's bound to make you feel different from most people. Thankfully, once I discovered that all of my family were experiencing the very same things and once we experienced them at the same time, I felt better.

Until about five or six years ago, I collected every work of nonfiction that I could find on the subject of ghosts. I couldn't help it. I still have so many that I've yet to read. I even collected in the area of fiction. Once I accepted who I was, however, my fascination just kind of ended and I could get on with just being myself. So, devoting so much energy to collecting and reading in this area was really all about finding myself. I guess we all do it differently.

Anyway, as I browsed through a second-hand store on Tuesday, I came across a collection of the ghost stories of Charles Dickens. This time, as I took a book to the checkout counter, I realized that I was buying it because I like the genre.

The Complete Ghost Stories of Charles Dickens
Edited: Peter Haining
Hardcover
Franklin Watts (1983)

2006-05-19T09:36:00.003-04:00

Play-by-Play Today

While waiting for my first client to arrive this morning, I'm thinking about the fact that I really would like to clean Gigi's room but can't think when I'll be able to do so today. At this point, her wind-up bunny -- it plays Brahms's lullaby -- begins to play.

I hurry to her room because I'm excited that someone is here. Just as I open the door, the bunny stops playing. Where is it? I have to search for it. It's lying under her table. I pick it up and wonder, "Who is here?"

2006-05-12T09:14:00.003-04:00

Hmmm....

This morning, my daughter (not quite 3 years old) took me completely by surprise when we had the following conversation:

"Mummy, I'm scared."

"Why are you scared?"

"Because of Fred's shadow."

"Really? Who's Fred?"

"He's a very scary ghost."

"What does he say to you?"

"He says, "Hello, Gigi", just like that."

"Wow. Well, you tell Fred that Mummy says to stop scaring you."

Fred is new to me. Actually, I know of a ghost around here called Alfred (I mentioned him here): He started hanging out here a little while ago. Could she be interpreting his name as 'Fred'? Could he have told her that his name is 'Fred'?

2006-05-11T14:52:00.002-04:00

I'm Back!

For unknown reasons, I've had difficulties posting to this blog: getting logged in, losing data, etc.

But, everything seems OK at the moment.

An interesting anecdote:

My sister, alone at my mother's house last week, heard loud, booming footsteps coming up the stairs on the porch behind her and these were followed by a loud bang on the screen door. When she went to investigate immediately, she found nothing and nobody there: There had been no descending footsteps.

So, the ghosts on the porch are still there. I used to hear them all the time but now, when I go to my mother's house, I rarely hear anything.

My sister also told me that my maternal grandmother visits her regularly. She actually rarely visits ME. She and my sister shared a closer relationship than my grandmother and I had.

I can feel things slowing down for me: not in terms of reading-volume overall but in the sense that June is my family vacation time and I might have accidentally on purpose scheduled fewer readings in the weeks leading up to it.

I generally do more readings per day than I would like to do and I have shuffled the majority of requests off to July.

I've been gardening with my husband lately because 'tis the season. I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of gardening that needs to be done. Last year, I had a small baby and I didn't do much gardening at all. The gardens lay barren, practically. Now my baby is a little girl and I've been able to do more work around the 12-or-so gardens.

Though I'm plodding away out there during spare moments, I'm well aware that I'm ignoring what I normally consider to be the spiritual benefits of working the earth and in nurturing seeds to seedlings to mature plants: the biological connection to the earth, engaging in an activity that connects me to the generations before me.

My readings tomorrow are all back-to-back and this will give me more spare time in the middle of the day.