Ghosts I, Are They the Same as the Dead?
Welcome to Ghosts! 
This post is the first in a series that explores how ghosts differ from the dead, the fascinating nature of ghosts, and what to do to free them. I will be using examples from ghosts I have known and loved which I have had the privilege of liberating.
GHOSTS I
In the popular imagination, ghost are usually regarded as dead people who for some reason cannot leave the “earth plane.” Is this true?
I’ve worked a lot with ghosts and even more with the dead and I can tell you that there is literally a world of difference. First of all, a ghost is stuck in our dimension whereas the dead are already out of it. There are deceased who sometimes get stuck, either trapped in a delusion of their own making or in an in-between zone because they refuse to believe they’re dead. Nevertheless, they are not stuck on this side of the veil. At the least they are at the threshold of the afterlife. But that’s a topic I’ll save for another blog.
There’s a huge difference between a genuine afterdeath encounter and a ghost sighting. When you wake up in the middle of the night and see your dead grandmother standing by your bed, rather than inspiring fear, it will inspire euphoria. She will be illuminated to some degree, either emanating light from inside or bathed in a luminescence. No doubt, she will be smiling at you. Your grandmother has come for a visit, expressly to see you, to help you through a difficult time, to reassure you of her continued existence, but occasionally to warn you about something in the future. As it is now, messages from the dead are often simple. “I’m still alive and still watching over you. I will always love you.” In the future, when we learn how to communicate with the dead, they will be more complex. Still, these few straightforward words have an undeniable power and can change your life.
Unlike your grandmother who shows up wherever you are, ghosts are not there to pay visits. Instead, they are associated with a specific place. If they are aware of you at all, they will avoid contact, preferring to stay in their own isolated universes. And they don’t emanate light, but are wispy, appearing as something like smoke. And they don’t produce euphoria in their beholders. Fear maybe but never any joyousness. Your grandmother’s focus is entirely on you. Ghosts, by contrast, have no intention of interacting with you or with the physical environment you see them in. They are therefore typically mute and unresponsive. In fact, getting their attention is hard work.
They are also compulsive and self-involved. Ghost sightings usually involve a specter caught in habitual, repetitive, trance-like movement, like a perpetual re-run. For example, you might see them going up a staircase approximately at the same time of day or through a wall where a door used to be. The dead never do this. Instead, what they do is spontaneous and comes as a surprise.
In Ghosts II, I’ll tell you why they are so different. Take a look!
Linda
2012-11-22 @ 5:00 AM
I enjoyed listening to your talk on Coast to Coast AM the other night. I was particularly interested in this topic of ghosts and your accurate description of them. My mother sold our childhood home after my dad’s death. It has passed through a couple of families that each stayed only a couple of years. Apparently my dad “haunts” the lower level, walking from the dining room to the bedroom. I am wondering why he’s there. He died in another state while on vacation and was really happy (and I think ready for death) at the time of his death. He’d spent the day trekking through Yellowstone, was feeling weak and died that night at the age of 88. Could it be his energy simply “imprinted” the area where he’d spent 40 years? That it’s not really anything to do with HIM in the house, just a remnant of repetitious energy? Recently my best friend saw the same type of apparition in her vacation home, of her mother walking down the hall. Her mother had never been to the house and they didn’t even own it while she was alive. She showed no sign of wanting to communicate, just passing through. I hate the thought that they’re stuck somewhere. My dad had such a beautiful death. He was left alone for about 30 minutes and simply died. The EMTs said he was smiling.
Julia
2012-11-23 @ 4:50 AM
Wonderful wonderful. I have a chapter on ghosts in The Last Frontier that might interest you and a set of blogs on ghosts on this site. Read them over and then contact me. If you or your friend see these apparitions again, try to make contact with them. In fact, don’t wait for an apparition. I think your father is in great shape and you could use some of his energy. Don’t worry about these walk throughs. Your friend’s mother was probably curious! Let me know what happens next. Am breathless to find out the next chapter!
Julia
Keith Johnson
2012-11-30 @ 8:26 PM
Dear Julia,
I’ve a few important (to me) questions. I ask you because you are, of course, very educated and that carries a lot of weight with me. Don’t much care for the wildly dressed crystal-wearing, dark makeup type of mediums I’ve seen. If you are one like them, I do not mean any offense what-so-ever. It just makes me uneasy (do spirits really communicate better if we look ‘dark’ and depressed? lol! Doubt it 🙂 I’m afraid it got so strange around here in July that I asked my pastor, associate pastor (and the cross from the church’s alter) to come to our home and help me send the spirits away. The pastor had never been called to help in a situation such as this in his 30 years of ministry. He was kind of ‘out of place’ with it but serious. It worked. They/it left. Usually I can rid them with my own prayer and encouragement, but this time it wouldn’t go. I’ve felt terrible about that, as it was actually friendly to me and did cool things to show it, though it scared my wife and nephew by just being itself and throwing things and speaking. I think these do need help. I feel like I may have sent them to… well, I don’t know…
1) Did I do the right thing?
They never have scared me. I’ve experienced them all my life but usually keep it to myself. I was born without heartbeat and not breathing and have often wondered if during my ‘death’ I was somehow given the ability to experience them. Problem is that my wife doesn’t like them. They scare her. My step-daughter is less scared than my wife. Wife is afraid they are evil and has wondered if I risk my soul while dealing with them. We no longer talk about this, for her sake.
2) If I do try to help these spirits, am I safe, spiritually? Can the ‘evil’ spirits too dangerous? I’ve always had that in the back of my mind… One never wants to lose his or her soul! :):)
My dad is a methodist minister. 78 years old now, so its been a long journey. He and my mother also know these things are real, and not always evil (which is rare for a methodist preacher!). My mother was saved by one while she was pregnant with me. He said to pray for protection whenever I experience them and to never speak to the spirits, just in case they are unfriendly ones.
I guess I need to understand these issues. God gave this to me, and I cannot help but to think I should use it. Do you think God wants me to embrace this? Bible teachings don’t jive well with what I am able to interact with, and I sometimes wonder if they might – might – be demons in disguise. Sounds silly, I know. Even my father and my preacher don’t know what I should do. I mean, you just can’t walk up to even friends and tell them about this without being dismissed immediately (I then act like it was a joke to save face).
Not sure if I asked my questions clearly enough for proper advice, but this has all weighed heavily on my since last July. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I do understand if you don’t have the time to answer them, but really, really, need your advice!
Keith
Julia
2012-12-03 @ 6:02 PM
Truthfully Keith, I have never really encountered “evil.” I don’t believe it exists outside of the human being’s capacity to create it. And I have never heard of an instance in which a person was harmed dealing with what are obviously thought forms or even the deceased. An easy way to control this is with music. Also be sure that you and your family members are not projecting repressed parts of themselves. Projections out of strongly repressed material can be very powerful.
Julia
Catherine
2014-04-18 @ 3:39 AM
Hi. My dear friend just passed recently of a sudden diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. It has affected me deeply and I cannot get passed it. She had complained to me of not feeling well and headaches. I don’t feel I encouraged her strongly enough to seek medical attention. I feel as if I just want to say goodbye to her that I was left with this longing to do this. I want to thank her for everything she did for me and of course her friendship. I also have another close friend with stage IV cancer. I cannot bear to lose another friend. Is there any advice you can give me to express my feeling of gratitude and get some closure with my friend that has passed. What can I do to help my friend who is very ill be more comfortable when his time comes? When my friend passed it was late at night and I had no idea it was that particular night but I remember being in the state when you are almost asleep but still fairly alert. I saw what I thought was a pure white face. It flashed so fast that I could not make out whose face it was. Do you think it was my friend letting me know she passed? Do you believe we have guardians from the other side watching over us? I also have been studying Buddhism and they believe in reincarnation of the soul into other forms such as animals or as a person. That is until you reach a state of nirvana. Do you feel there is any validity in this? I have this feeling that I need to believe in something but another side of me feels that either way when the time comes as long as I have lived my life morally I will be ok. Your thoughts?
Julia
2014-04-18 @ 11:13 AM
Catherine, of course that face was your friend. That is exactly how it happens, and most often right at the time of a person’s passing too. Survival after death is real. Communication after death is real. And reincarnation is real, although I wouldn’t worry about the Buddhist interpretation. I do write about all of this extensively in my book, The Last Frontier. I’m sure it would help you and it will also help you to communicate with your friend who has just passed, and to cope with the illness of your other friend. If you want to write me personally, go to the Contact page and write me from there. I would be glad to answer any questions you have.
Julia