Ghost Diary: Journey To The World Of Spirits

Fear factor

For the most part the world of spirits is judged to be a bad thing (think black magic, evil spirits trying to possess people). It usually falls into this category. And there are others who judge entities to be good (think gurus, ascended masters, guiding angels). Neither of these judgments is correct. Another huge area of misconception about entities, spirits, ghosts and all this sort of stuff is movies and television, where most of what is depicted is for the most part incorrect and heavily dramatised. Try searching on the internet about the kind of revenue horror movies generate. I know this seems obvious, but those who are afraid of entities—and when we get down to what has created that fear—it is often something they saw in a movie. More often than not, the majority of our experiences are predetermined, based on reference points from popular culture, hearsay, stories…. Fear is the No. 1 inhibitor people use when they don’t want to deal with something. It is a choice, and if you do not choose fear, consider yourself a miracle.

Figment of imagination?

Take the Bollywood movie Bees Saal Baad, about an angry spirit still stuck in a previous identity and looking for her husband. Logically it makes no sense, but does in the world of fic­­tion. What if there was more to this pheno­menon? In the popular television show Hum Paanch that I watched while growing up, there is a helpful spirit, who talks to her living husband through her portrait. She comments about updates in the family like any of the living members. Communicating to deceased loved ones in a daydream or in your sleep is common, and it is mostly personal and you are scoffed at if you talk about it. But at the core of both examples, some communication with spirits is going on.

My grandmother was born in undivided India (now Pakistan) and I would call her ‘a spirits person’. A majority of men in her family were killed during Partition. Her husband died when she was 31, and she had to raise three children on her own. In time, she confided about being able to speak with her deceased loved ones in her dreams and ask them for advice on life matters. Everyone in our family thinks she is a bit cuckoo and her stories are a result of the post-traumatic stress disorder to the unfortunate events that occurred. So long it’s a teatime story or just entertainment, you will be spared but if you actively and obsessively talk about spirits being real, you must be crazy. Historically speaking, it is the aftertaste of laws and practices forbidding witchcraft and witch hunts, and purges that led to execution of those who worked with spirits. My sense is this was done by religious institutions to centralise control by instituting the fear of god, rather than encouraging the spirit with arts and crafts or simply witchcraft.

About two years ago, my mother called me to discuss a matter involving spirit dreams. She had been dreaming about some ancestors ever since she was a young girl but did not have the courage to tell anyone about it. It was obvious to me that she didn’t want to appear like my grandmother talking about spirits at all, she wanted to be an educated person who doesn’t believe in this mumbo jumbo. However, I am her son, and she decided to be vulnerable and told me about her disturbing dreams. We ended up talking for over an hour where I shared some information and tools on handling this situation. Two days later, she reported the dre­ams had stopped. We never spoke about the matter again. This is to say, necessity is the mother of all inventions. She needed something specific. Once it was handled, she became uninterested.

Unlearning to learn oneself

This may sound bizarre, but most of our psyc­hology is a culmination of belief systems, points of view and the psychologies of those we grow up around. An ‘indirect’ training that occurs by observing parents, learning to agree with those we feel safe, etc. I would say that the key to personal freedom is when you find out what is real and works for you. That will give you a sense of lightness, even when no one agrees with you. Currently I am based in Mexico, conducting online and in-person seminars all over, with the hope of empowering people to include their own awareness and show them that only they know what is true for them.

(This appeared in the print edition as "Ghost Diary")

(This article includes written material courtesy of Talk to the Entities and its founder Shannon O’Hara)

Mohnish Malhotra is a ‘ghost whisperer’, radio show host and media influencer based in Mexico