Behind the Veil Interview (part 2)

Interview with White Raven - Behind the Veil

Here is the much anticipated part 2 of our interview with White Raven!  You can read part 1 here.

Would you say the majority of so-called hauntings by people from our history, are NOT actually those souls who have passed? Imposters?

Not imposters but what I like to call imprints or impressions. Humans are creatures of habit and made of energy/spirit. When they do an action, think a thought or feel an emotion over and over again, it reinforces itself just like the chant of an incantation or prayer. In this way, people can haunt places while still being alive. Some project their energy more than others. Teenagers tend to do this a lot because of their crazy hormones causing them to have extreme mood swings. Events which cause intense emotion such as tragedy, especially ones involving death, can create instantly strong impressions that imbed themselves into the very fabric of whatever they touch.

Usually you can tell the difference between a genuine conscious spirit and an impression in the communication. An organic spirit with consciousness will demonstrate intelligence while an impression will act more like a programmed robot or wild animal. Genuine spirits will also interact and react whereas impressions happen at the same time, same place, or repeat the same words, smells, sounds, etc. like a broken record.

Most of the time, they are impressed on places but sometimes they can be attached to objects, especially furniture. I'm always careful to consider what I bring into the house second hand. If I begin to see activity that wasn't there before, I remove the item from my home or move it to another room in the house to see if the activity follows the object.The energy left behind by someone passed can be used by the spirit but when it is, it loses it's programming all together. The soul of the individual can then "wear" their own old energy and it acts as a bridge to our world because it was created when they were living. If the soul moves on entirely from this world, the energy is up for grabs and trickster spirits like to take advantage of this. In that case, it can be a malicious one that takes its place and "haunts". That's when people wonder why dear sweet grannie died and now they have a monster in their basement where all her old clothes are stored.

That's why it's important to remember our loved ones, to keep them around. Once they leave, it's hard for them to reconnect and easy for imposters to take their place.

But historical "haunts" are well remembered and a spirit that walks away from that kind of energy is crazy unless it was a traumatic event (in which case the spirit of that poor soul may actually be crazy!).

Many people think that human spirits have some sort of power to see the future, or see the world from some bird's eye view point. Many people think deceased relatives can intercede in human affairs for them. Is this true?

Each spirit is unique just like us. Each one has their own individual strengths and weaknesses. One may be able to see the future with amazing accuracy while another can predict as well as a meteorologist forecasts next weekend's weather. But they don't all have the ability or intelligence to. We have the same abilities. Just because we are dead or alive, doesn't make it different. Being without a vessel just makes it easier to tap into intuition without discrepancies. So I guess, in a way, they do have an advantage we do not.

Deceased ancestors can intercede very much and in fact it's more common than most people imagine. Most of the time it goes entirely unnoticed. Some think they're just super lucky in life or that they are cursed when in reality, their ancestor is behind the scenes pulling strings. That's why I support honoring our ancestors regularly. When we don't utilize that connection and keep open communication, we won't be in the loop as to what is being influenced and how. It's not as simple as a random spirit's influence because they are connected to us by the very thing that runs through our veins. So you can imagine how easy it is for them to sway our urges and desires. It also makes it rather impossible for exterior rituals such as banishing and cleansing to stop them.

If it is a friend or someone else not bonded by blood or oath (i.e. marriage), they will use images of themselves (photographs) or objects that they connected to in life (gifts, personal possessions, or personal creations--handwritten notes included). You don't realize how many doorways you have in your home to the spirits of those living and dead. To truly sterilize it, you would need to get rid of everything sentimental, every gift, and anything old that came into your possession second hand. Even then, even the wood that your table is made from could trace back to its own years in the forest and whatever life and energy it contacted. Spirit is all around us and that's one reason the dead can seem omniscient. They aren't bound to a set of eyes and ears anymore, but have branches spread out all over that they can tap into. 

Is there anything you could suggest for people who are interested in contacting a loved one who has passed on?

Yes. Talk to them. Stop treating them like dead means gone. You don't need a special altar or day. Just talk! You don't need to hear their response to let them know you care. Who knows, maybe you will hear them or you'll get a sign from them. Do this often.

Stop discrediting their attempts to contact you. Stop telling yourself that dream was "just a dream". Will it hurt just to tell them thank you? I knew a spirit that took two years trying to contact his daughter. Every time he made her dream of him, he would become so happy. The next day, he was in a miserable state because she dismissed it. 

Did you smell their cologne? Or maybe you saw them in a crowd and when you took that double take they were gone. Stop blaming your imagination. Thank them! Talk to them. They're reaching out and you're making them feel horrible by avoiding confirmation. 

The dead aren't sitting around you 24/7. They don't know everything. Tell them how you wear that necklace as a reminder of them. Tell them that the picture on the wall holds the memory of the day you spent with them. Make a point to keep them alive in your heart and let them know it! 

There is importance in the little things. When you drink or eat their favorite food and think of them, why not pour a cup for them? Let it sit out for a few hours and then pour it outside in the dirt. With food, I usually just "share" by saying out loud, "Hey (name), I have your favorite (blank) here! Why don't you come join me and have some?" Or if I'm cooking (and they were cooks), I'll invite them when I'm cooking by talking about them to anyone around. Many spirits of the dead I work with insist that I do not need to "waste" the food. I merely have to give them permission to take the energy from it. In fact, I find that sharing with them in this way forms a stronger connection to them. After all, I am eating the physical half and they are eating the spirit half of something. For this reason, it's a good idea not to do this with individuals you do not trust. But we are talking loved ones here. For safety reasons, always name them when you give them permission. This prevents tricksters from gaining that energy and connection at your expense. Don't just assume that presence in the room is them and it's okay to say "here, have some." in an open invitation to whoever that presence is. Be sure to word it "here (name), have some." Or "this is for my mother, (name)." If in doubt, throw it out. If you get a bad feeling about eating what you offer, then only offer a small portion and bury it after a few hours. If you can't bury it, set it outside for the birds/cats/raccoons. After all, everything in nature is consumed by something else. That's the cycle of life. 

Holidays are a time of family and friends and making memories but also sharing the old ones. Bring up happy stories that include your dead ones so that they feel included and loved. If you have 5 people sitting at a table, pull up six chairs. If that's too weird for you, then bring out the photo album instead and open up the pages to their image.

Any closing remarks?

Spirits of the dead grieve just as much as we do, but the difference is that they do not have the friends and family they hold dear to hug and tell them everything will be okay. If they are lucky, they will have another dead one waiting for them, but not always. All of the living people ignore their existence and go on with their own lives. It makes them feel like they were never really that important, for people to be able to move on so easily and not so much as speak their name. Imagine the pain of being forgotten. And people wonder why they "move on". 

Spirits of the dead are shunned in our society. That is not the case within Mexico and other cultures that still show love and honor to their family post mortem as a "norm". Here, we shut them up in cemeteries and leave them there to rot, quite literally. The graves are supposed to be stones of respect and memory and instead they are mowed over and stepped on like common rocks decorating a large area of land. This is one of many reasons why I'm an advocate of cremation. It's not only freeing but it allows people to put their loved ones in places with much more attention to honor and memory. 

The only drawback to cremation is the lack of a physical memorial that future generations can utilize. Oral tradition or record keeping will be important for the information that "(name)'s ashes are under this tree." And let's be honest, the knowledge of that resting place will eventually be lost far quicker than a granite stone with their name and an epitaph. 

The dead focus on memory A LOT. Each trace of memory is like a root that stabs into the ground and gives them an anchor to this world so that they can continue to finish their business. But when that memory, that root, is severed, their hold here suffers. Their business could be watching over family like a guardian angel or waiting for their spouse to move on with them. Usually if they are really appreciated or have many strong connections, they will stay around even after they're done wrapping up their own lives to help those that remember them (even if they didn't know them in life). Sometimes it's just a simple stroke of good luck as a thank you. 

It can be rewarding to be kind to the spirits around you, even if you cannot see and hear them like I can.