What Is Your Reaction?

So....what is your reaction? When people ask you what you do, how do you respond? What are the typical answers? Doctor, lawyer, clerk, journeyman? These are all great answers but my response is what gets the biggest and best response. My response is, "I'm a ghost hunter". After that, there's nothing but silence. After that, maybe a chuckle or grin.

So what? Why is the reaction that I get so different from other people? If I were to say I worked at McDonald's or at Target would that get as big a reaction? It would be the same reaction.

You know, I take that back. There are those who would be so startled that their first reaction is to be silent and then comes the grin or chuckle or both. OR, there are those that react with a bit of silence and then, "Really?" "Wow". "That's cool".

That is cool. I am eager to tell the world what I do. I like being different. Being different is something I have never really done. Growing up I was terribly shy until I got to know people and even now I have a tough time. It takes time for me to warm up to people some times. I'm not fussy, just shy. Some people don't understand that because I can be very loud in a crowd. But I probably know those people.

One thing I have discovered is that ghost hunters, paranormal investigators and anyone who is interested in any way in the paranormal are really nice people. They are easy to talk to, willing to learn and guaranteed to be fun on an investigation. I don't know if that is a requirement because sometimes you can find some people who are just different. They have lifestyles that the majority of people would not understand or they just stand out and that can rub some people the wrong way or irritate others. But, get them in a group of ghost hunters and they seem to blend in fairly easily.

Over my ten years of being a ghost hunter and paranormal investigator, I have met many people, all different, all interesting. I can probably count on one hand the people that are within the paranormal community that really irritate me and it's not without good reason. I don't stand for arrogant people. I don't stand for people that feel that they know it all and that their word is gospel. I don't stand for people that try to take advantage of people or are scheming to get people's money. I don't stand for people that are unwilling to share.

This may sound like it's very simple but it's not. When dealing with people, of course, you are dealing with their personalities and attitudes. They usually think they are right and it's difficult to change their minds. There is no wavering on their part. I find it difficult in a field that has no experts (myself included) that these people who can be stubborn, feel that their way is the only way.

Well okay then. If they want it to be their way, so be it. I can't change anyone's mind and really don't want to try. Some people have mindsets that are unmovable. But, if they knew so much about ghost hunting and paranormal investigation, wouldn't they have made incredibly awesome discoveries by now?? Hmmmmm....

gloria

Visit A Cemetery - Respect Your Loved Ones

Today is Thanksgiving day and although most of us will be surrounded by family, food and drink, it is also interesting to note that we may have other visitors as well. We know that we are visited regularly by ghosts but it does seem that deceased relatives seem to come around at times when relatives need them most or when it is the most memorable times of the year. Perhaps it is the memories that have remained in the minds of the ghosts as well.

Thanksgiving is a time to think about your loved ones, those living and those that have passed over. We never allow ourselves time to think about them. At a time when we should be relaxing and reliving the times that take us back to our childhoods, we instead are juggling work commitments with day care issues or pre-pubescent issues. The air is filled with tension as we realize that we HAVE to visit our living loved ones whether by traveling far or nearby. Everything that needs to be done builds to the point that by the time the family gets to grandma's or any other relatives' house, everybody is on the brink of tears or arguing. This has a tendency to ruin everybody's day.

Why do people put themselves through these rituals? Is it really to be near your relatives that you really don't want to see anyway? Why not take a moment and visit your deceased loved one by visiting the nearby cemetery and taking some flowers or a plant? These were people too. These are people that will communicate with you given the opportunity. These people (now ghosts) try to catch your attention by moving things, closing doors, turning on a light, talking to you, swinging a lamp, etc., and what do you do? You walk away. You are so busy you don't notice. They are making the best effort they can to communicate or get your attention and you walk away. If we didn't regard them then, we certainly should take a moment to regard them now. People see cemeteries as desolate, creepy places not to be visited by the living. When, in fact, cemeteries are places of joy, celebration, peace and quiet. You can easily meditate in a cemetery. You can "hear" things if you listen hard enough....they are trying to talk to you. You might even "see" something. They may not do that easily enough but they try. A cemetery is a place of wonderment. It allows you to use your senses, to readily think, to relax, to be calm. This is a place you should certainly take a moment to visit when stressed....or not. It is an ideal place to be yourself and not be judged.

So, when you are at your last straw, visit a cemetery and say hello to your relatives or someone else's relatives. You will feel better and so will they.

gloria

Getting Back - Why A Ghost Hunter?

It has been approximately one year since my last post and now I have made a committed effort to keep this blog up to date. Why? Because so many people have been wondering what I do with all my time.

They are unaware of the process of being a ghost hunter or paranormal investigator and ask me why does it take so long to, 1) get out a report, 2) begin a preliminary investigation, 3) put together information needed to give a presentation, etc.

All of these are good questions and I figured I better start understanding what I do too. My life has begun to evolve on a level where more people know about me. I have written six books and published four. I thought my life would change at that point. I put on a yearly conference....all by myself. Do I have support and offers of help? Yes. But it is my input and decisions that make the conference run. I decide who gets to speak. I decide where it is being held. I decide....it's all me. Do I mind? Sometimes. But not enough to stop doing it. The part that I hate the most is the part where I have to dig deep into my pockets for the extra money it takes to do it. I'm sure that eventually it will break even but I think that the best part of the conference is that everyone enjoys themselves. There is so much learning and people meeting each other and having a great time, that money is always a secondary issue.

Why did I become a ghost hunter and paranormal investigator? First, the answer everyone gives....I have always been interested in ghosts. Second, the reason why.....because I had experiences when I was young, and even lately when I wasn't on investigations, that I can't explain. My (childhood) family was always non-supportive. By that I mean, my mother. My mother was, is, a Hitler-type mother. She is negative, non-supportive and generous to a fault....with other people. Don't get me wrong. I love my mother. She did give me birth. But that's where the affection stops. She says things that are mean and then laughs about it thinking it was a joke. Well, maybe to her. She is kind, generous and thoughtful to anyone other than her family. Every blue moon she will do something or say something that is actually very nice but I just as soon live the life she has given me on my own terms. Yes, my mother's a gem. So basically, I cut the cord.

Okay, that's the not so great part. Let's discuss the first thing in my life that opened my eyes to paranormal activity and literally began my journey down this road.

When I was young (please don't ask me the year because I know I don't remember that), my most favorite uncle, my uncle Louie, was dying. He was in a hospital in Yolo County that was a little hospital out in the middle of labor town. They really didn't have large medical centers like they do now. We are probably talking around the late 1960's. It was probably a few rooms and the waiting area was the lobby of the hospital. My favorite uncle, my uncle Louie was a great guy. I obviously don't remember a lot about him but we always had fun visiting his house. He would give us chocolate bars and fifty-cent pieces. That was big stuff to us. What I didn't realize at that time was that he worked really hard for that little bit of money and here he was giving it to my sister, brother and I freely and from his heart. He didn't have any babies himself. He married a woman who had a son already. Those are my only memories of my uncle.

So here we were in Yolo County keeping a vigil for my dying uncle. Everyone was inside the lobby but my sister and I were sleeping in my parents' station wagon outside. Morning time and my father came out to wake us up and tell us to come inside because it was too cold outside. We had traveled and slept in our pajamas and were now getting dressed to go inside the hospital. I got dressed first. My sister was always crabby in the morning and so she was slow getting started. I sat in the middle bench of the station wagon with my leg hanging out of the door while my sister continued to get dressed. I pulled my leg inside the car and just sat there waiting. Now this was a clear day, somewhat cold but it wasn't raining and it wasn't dark. I was awake and am able to recount all of this experience, just not explain it.

I was sitting there in my usual 'let's get the morning started' attitude when all of a sudden ~ now mind you, I am describing this in the best way that I can because I lack any "real" words to describe this ~ all of a sudden, something jumped on my right knee. This was the knee that was hanging out the door and was now inside the car. Now give me a moment to describe what this was....a fairy, a spark, a light, a snapping of fingers....I have nothing to describe it. It was as if the movie frame of my eyes saw something, reacted and blinked and it was gone. Just that fast. Just that quick.

I had already been teased about wanting to know about ghosts by my family. The ribbing I received was way worse than any regular family's teasing. The ribbing I received cut to the core, so much so that I descended into my own little world the majority of the time so I didn't have to deal with my family. I was always the odd one.

What was it that jumped on my knee? I don't know but what I did know in that instant was that my uncle, my favorite uncle....my Uncle Louie was dead. Don't ask me how because as you can see, I can't even explain it. But I knew. I knew when I walked into that hospital lobby exactly what I would find. I would find my relatives crying and upset.

My sister finally grumbled her way to getting dressed and we walked the short pathway inside the lobby and sure enough, there was crying and sobbing coming from my relatives. My Uncle Louie had past away. I was devastated. I was never given the opportunity to see him. I was told that I wouldn't want to see him "like that" but should remember him the way he was.

So...I do. I remember what little I remember of him. His smile, without a few teeth. His generosity. His kindness. Probably his desire to have children and never did.

This was my very first paranormal experience. Was it ESP? Was it something else? I don't know and will never know until I die. Then I will begin to get answers. Then I will finally be able to understand. I'm not afraid to die anymore. I know there is a life that continues and it may be a life I choose in many ways. I can probably choose to come to the earth and communicate or not. I think I will probably come back and teach some more.

gloria
www.ghost-trackers.org