So, you want a ghostly encounter?

NOTE: You might also want to read a previous post I wrote about how to be a ghost magnet.

I have only met one or two people hunting ghosts who have not had an experience with a ghost that prompted the whole search. There are still some who love all things ghosts, but have yet to have a personal encounter. Those are the people I want to focus on in this post.

The interesting thing about most encounters with the paranormal, they’re serendipitous. Even ghost hunters have no guarantee on any evening they’re going to have something happen (look at “Ghost Hunters” lame episodes). You know the old saying about watched pots never boil? So, how are you supposed to have this amazing incident that will forever change your life and your views on the afterlife?

By upping your odds and skills.

Well, let’s look at the conditions in which others have run into the paranormal.

1. In the bedroom
2. Home alone
3. Silent places
4. Old historic buildings with tragic histories
5. Haunted tours
6. Haunted hotels

What do people who experienced the paranormal have that others are missing? Well, let me put it this way; if you’re spastic, noisy, hate the quiet, can’t stand to be alone, hate dusty old places, and keep your mind so busy you can’t think about one subject, you’re not a good candidate. You are going to have a very hard time capturing the nuances in the environment.

I’ve been in a room with others on a ghost hunt where only a couple people heard something or maybe just two people saw something, yet we were all in the room together. It’s subtle; it requires noticing changes in your body and the environment like temperature changes, hair standing on end, goosebumps, feelings of being watched and changes in the lighting.

If you meditate, you will be a great candidate for a ghostly encounter. The fact is, these incidents can be happening and you never pick them up because you’re not slowing down and tuning yourself in.

To start, try sometime just sitting at home alone with no TV, no lights, no air-conditioner running. Just sit and be in the dark. Do this a long while, studying the light coming through distant windows, listening for the sounds your home makes, just slowing down your whole system like a yogi master and feeling all around you with your senses to notice what changes. We consider ourselves to be limited by the confines of our body, but we reach out much further than that and encompass our environment as well. I always say the human body is the best ghost hunting equipment and most reliable compared to the gadgets we run around pointing at the air. You’re learning to feel yourself within an environment so that you’re a team. It’s something most people ignore all day long to get through crowded buses and office spaces and other boundary-imposing situations. In the case of running into ghostly phenomenon, you must probe your environment.

You are also developing your skills of intuition. Intuitive people tend to be able to stop time (not literally) long enough to capture shifts and changes. It’s an animal-like instinct and it’s crucial for knowing where to be and what time to be there to witness something.

You want a better chance of having a paranormal experience? I suggest you book a room at a haunted hotel. Be sure you pick one that isn’t in the downtown city where noise and lights are going to confuse you. If you bring a companion, let that person know your plan to experience something paranormal. Folks ask me all the time, “what about amulets or other attracting devices?” Honestly, the same things that meant something when they were alive will mean something when they have passed on. Try and leave out your jewelry and change on the bedside table. Scoot the alarm clock as close to the bed as you can get it. Wait until other guests have settled down. Hunker down in the bed, but don’t lie down or you’re likely to fall asleep. Lights out, but keep the bathroom light on and the door just barely ajar to see changes in lighting. If you have shades, close them on the windows, but don’t draw the curtains unless that’s your only option. You can see something moving in front of shades easily by the changes in lighting. You really don’t have to do anything more than ask if someone is there with you. Now, wait.

Giving yourself even more of an edge, you might consider going during stormy season or checking the geomagnetic activity for the day and be certain there’s some sort of storms going on. You can check daily here. If you want to be sure you have ideal geology, you might consider going to one of the “hot” states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky or a mining town.

The simple fact is that most of us live in modern homes in modern lifestyles and even go to bed with the TV on timer. We don’t get or appreciate any downtime in which we aren’t multitasking and on the cell phone with the computer running. Except for those brief moments falling asleep and during the night, we simply don’t get the chance to check in with our world and see what’s happening and changing, so we often miss a great deal of cues that the spirit world could be producing.

NOTE: A lot of folks get their first encounter with the use of a Ouija board. By now, most of you know I'm amused and entertained by Ouija but I do not have any personal belief in demons, Satan or the concept of evil as an entity. So, that being said, I still don't think a Ouija is a good idea for the simple fact that people are highly suggestible by nature. What you get using a Ouija board can have more to do with psychic abilities and reading others in the room or total nonsense than any sort of spirit interaction. I don't think you can talk to the spirit world that way and I think that most people have a religious background that can really screw with their minds and 10 years, 20 years later, they're still remembering that time they played with a Ouija and attributing all kinds of downfalls thereafter to having used it. So, for one's own good, just don't play with the silly game board.

Let me know if any of you have questions or experiences so I can refine my instructions.