No Haunting is a “Good” Haunting

C 2008 By Kirby Robinson

Do you have a friend or relative that you grew up with that you remained close to for years? Someone you loved like she was your mother – or even better if you didn’t get along with your mother – a person you respected and couldn’t envision being without?

Now, let’s all pretend we have someone like that in our lives. Pretend this fine person is called Aunt Sarah. Imagine she’s the most compassionate person in your neighborhood, and she is always willing to listen to your problems and when she does give advice it’s useful. Combine that gift with her ability to cook like all the best chefs and cooks you see on certain TV shows/channels. Not only is Aunt Sarah a whiz in the kitchen, she transfers her love of culinary competence right over to you. And she never forgets your birthday, in fact, this woman bakes you a special cake, always knowing your preferred flavors. And her Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers are legendary. Thing is, you got so used to her, even after you left home, that you never really thought much about what would happen when she was no longer around.

Sadly, one day death came calling for her, as we all know it’ll come for us, and when Aunt Sarah died, you were very saddened by the news. You were there for her funeral, and when her casket was lowered into the ground, you wondered how you’d ever live without your dear Aunt Sarah.

Let’s take this story down the road a few years. By now your lifestyle has changed and you have your own family. You decide to imitate your Aunt Sarah one Thanksgiving by hosting a big get together of family and friends. You’ve been in the kitchen all day doing the cooking and everything’s going well, thanks to writing down Aunt Sarah’s recipes and recreating them. The dinner is a huge success, as the food is good and the atmosphere is pleasant, okay, maybe some liquid refreshments helped it along. Then, one of the guests complains about a draft that’s suddenly all too obvious. Maybe it’s someone who is naturally cold-blooded, or they just like to gripe. You smile, glad that someone is aware of your favorite aunt’s presence. “Oh that’s Aunt Sarah!” you inform the startled guest. “She always comes around when I cook and bake with her recipes.”

Now you’re able to keep your guests entertained with tales of Aunt Sarah’s “hauntings” and one of the other guests asks: “Why not help Aunt Sarah move on?”

But you don’t agree with that theory. “No, we just love having Aunt Sarah around here.”

Now, think about what that means. Aunt Sarah hangs out at your place 24/7, but she only makes her presence known at certain times. Can you imagine how bored she is? Sure, she’s quite fond of the people that live in that house, but what can she do other than move some dishes or flit around near someone who can sense her, and then they just complain about a draft? How does this benefit Aunt Sarah? It doesn’t. Imagine that you had a full time job you disliked intensely, something repetitive and unskilled, requiring no creativity, imagination, or intelligence. The best part of the day came when you punched out on the time clock. But no matter how much you loathed your job, you generally didn’t have to put up with it all day/night/weekends, year in, and year out. If things got too rough, you could usually find a less boring job. But Aunt Sarah doesn’t have that option. She’s bound to remain on that property, or in that home, for a lot longer than most people remain in jobs they can’t stand. Aunt Sarah may love the people she “haunts” but in reality she’s stuck there with no pay and no time off, until she’s freed to go to the bardo state where she’ll be able to find out where her next rebirth will occur. Hopefully, she’ll be reborn in the human realm, and possibly she’ll return to you as your child, or relative, or neighbor.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who advertise the fact that they own or run a “haunted” hotel, bed & breakfast, restaurant, historical society, etc., where they exploit the ghosts of the past. They think it’s colorful and it adds money to their bank account. And they may even think it’s fun to have spirit(s) hanging around and dancing, and/or making noises. Having a haunting is profitable and fun.

The only good haunting is no haunting. I’m writing these words as I stand behind what they mean. Yes, I think shows like “Ghost Hunters” and “Paranormal State” are educational and well put together. I appreciate anything that realistically and factually sheds light onto the paranormal, but it’s getting to the point where having a haunted house or a spirit tied to your physical premises is put on the same level as a car in the driveway or a computer in every home, and it’s not.

Spirits that are still walking the earth and engaging in behavior that gets them noticed need something. Since they seek attention, they choose to get it by knocking things over. They have issues that need to be resolved. They need peace, hence the term: Rest In Peace. But all earth-bound spirits have lessons to be learned, and that’s why they’re unable to enter the bardo state when they die. The lessons usually concern the three poisons, see the blog: "Poisonous Mind, Possessed Property" and those really have to be settled so they’re able to progress through the bardo state to gain whatever rebirth awaits them.

I’m not saying we should run around willy-nilly dehaunting homes, offices, property, parks, graveyards, hotels, etc. on our own. But at the same time we need to educate the public about what a haunting actually is all about. To the commercial folks out there, who make money off of the dead, just let them rest in peace. Put yourself in the spirits’ situation, and think of how you would feel being stuck in a small area for eternity…you know there are better places out there, right? Let’s free as many spirits as we can so they can all take their steps towards enlightenment. The more we help them, the more we ultimately help ourselves.