On my calendar for today is an appointment to go see about a haunting in Alexandria. I'm looking forward to the experience as I have a special affection for ghosts. They remind me of all the stoners I used to hang out with. What am I saying? They remind me of ME when I was a stoner, kind of fuzzy around the edges, unable to focus most of the time. Ghosts get disoriented, they lose track of time, can't quite remember, most of the time, that they're dead. Sometimes they remember their deaths and freak out for awhile - that's when they moan and shriek and groan. But five minutes later they've forgotten all about it again. I swear ghosts are so stoned!
They don't really get the living, either. I'm pretty sure they can't tell the difference between when we're awake and asleep, which is why they're always trying to talk to us while we're sleeping. We're quiet, not rushing around, when we're asleep. We switch off the lights, tv, computers, ipods, etc. when we sleep. I think they feel we are more approachable without all the noise and distraction.
The people who called me about the haunting just bought a house that's registered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It's close to a Civil War battlefield, but not right on top of it, which could be a factor in the haunting, though the woman who contacted me says she thinks it might be a female. Even the movers, burly dudes (as she described them) thought they saw someone looking out a window on the second floor.
It won't surprise anyone who has known me for awhile that I plan to bring a small hand mirror with me today. I like to walk around haunted houses looking at a reflection of the space. Sometimes I can "see" things in the mirror I wouldn't notice if I was looking directly at them. I'll bring my Tibetan singing bowl and the purbha that Butternut Squash (of the blog Goddess of the Confluence) gave me. Sometimes the clear tone of the bowl is all a spirit needs to snap out of her dreamstate and move along. Sometimes it takes more than that. I also always take a rattle. Ghosts don't really like rattles, which is one reason it's traditional to give rattles to babies - to keep the ghosts away. But it does get them all stirred up, makes them more visible. It's a small annoyance I always apologize for.
And my camera. Of course I'll take my camera. Though dubious that I'll capture the ghost digitally, it's always worth having the camera at the ready, just in case.
The next time I complain about my life, I hope someone will remind me that actually my life is SO interesting! Yes? I say yes.
28 comments:
Curious about the rattles. Hmm. I should get a BIG one! Keep us posted on the results.
I have paperwork here to fill out to submit WM to the Registry for Historic Places. Thanks for reminding me to hop to it.
Yes, I say yes you do have an interesting life. And interesting fact about the rattles. I had no idea.
oooooooooooh DO keep us posted! you're just amazing. xxx j
I think I have to get Henry James a rattle soonest.
Yes, your life is utterly fascinating.
Keep us posted as Willow said....
Being just a few chips short of a fish dinner makes for a very entertaining reality.
I always say that I believe in everything - it makes life more fun. Happy hunting - and "spill it" when you return
Your life _is_ so interesting! Heading to Alexandria with various items to check on a haunting sounds far more cool than what I'm up to: work as usual.
ooooh, look forward to hearing what happened!
Wish I was there!
"I swear ghosts are so stoned!"
LOL.
Fascinating! I'm especially intrigued by the singing bowl method. Just this morning I was writing down notes for a blog post about sound, especially that of bells and singing, as expression of truth and a call to attention of the deep Now.
I've just read this to my mother and she says "just like the gule wamkulu' She did research (as did Tam) on the semi secret male masking cult in Zambia and Malawi called gule wamkulu. Their job is to move the spirits of the deceased from the village to the graveyard by means of huge zoomorphic figures. They are constantly attended by young men with rattles. Can't really explain it properly - wish you were here with us now to chat about it!
(my mom loves your blog and always reads it!)
Oh Reya- so awesome in every way! Stoned souls picnic! Can't wait to hear what goes on and if you meet her in the mirror...Cool! I hope she gets going- can't be fun being all stuck with no cake to eat, no water to splash on your face in the morning- no morning...I didn't know that about rattles and babies- I thought rattles were just to irritate them...
That is so interesting about the mirror! When I was living in my old (haunted) house I often saw things in my bathroom mirror that faced my son's room (where the ghost seemed to like to be) that I couldn't see when I turned around and looked strait into the room. Hmmm!
Miranda that is so cool! I would really love to be sitting there with you two, I really really would.
Polly my teachers tell me that the sound of the singing bowl is something people hear right after death. If you can follow the tone, you'll get wherever it is you're supposed to go. Though of course I have no idea what that is, my theory is that it's a place of healing and reunion with the ancestors.
And...you can catch all sorts of things in mirrors.
Yes, please let us now how it goes! How exciting!
My parents rented a house in Florida once that I never felt comfortable in. It was just strange. One day as my father was leaving for work, my mom was standing in the window waving good-bye to him. He saw an elderly couple standing right behind her. He only told her after they left that house because she would have freaked for sure.
My parents also built a house in Gunnison, CO that was built on haunted ground. Sleeping downstairs in the basement we would hear noises we couldn't account for: banging, rattling, etc. One night we were all just sitting around and my father went into a trance-like state and starting talking about the pioneer family that had died there on their way west. I won't go into the details but it was not pleasant. Something I will never forget.
I think it was my father who attracted these spirits! I really do.
Rattles. Who knew? Fascinating. And now I have to walk around my house with a mirror.
Oh, I so wish I was going with you and look forward to your account of the session. Yes, it is funny how some spirits go easily and others not so. I've never thought to take a mirror.
Your life IS SO interesting. Yes, it is!
Your life/you BOTH so interesting, Reya.
I just started thinking of that Ghostbusters theme: "Who you gonna call . . ." How did these people know to contact you?
I love that first photograph, btw. It seems to contain all of elements of this post. Everything but a rattle. :)
I'll tell you something else about ghosts. They often time take advantage of their ghostly powers by prying into your affairs - claiming to be "friendly" - and ending up getting you into a bigger mess than what you started with. If I ever find out this particular ghost's last name (first name: Casper) I'm going to dig him up and make him sorry he ever walked through my walls.
reya i learned about reflections in puddles and on polished objects from you. today i learned about seeing the world with a mirror. a mirror. yes. very much a yes!
so reya! thanks! steven
Awesome. Go you! :)
Phil I love you.
Ronda I was definitely thinking of you today. Full report tomorrow.
Yes - you do. You really do have a fascinating life. And you share it too, which is a lovely thing. That was a super picture - transparency - reflections - what's a ghost anyway, but consciousness out of place?
Some days I'm probably more ghost than truly alive - guess that's the stoner thing (or the aging thing, at this point in the journey).
Reya, your life is amazing and many visitors, including me, come to read about it. I look forward to your report on your haunting search.
Hi Reya
I just love that reflection in the window...the focused look of a woman focusing...
Happy days
What a positively fabulous thing to have on one's calender. I am ridiculously jealous.
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