Why do people believe in a higher being? Or that a higher being will do for you if you pray to it? Or even that an evil being exists to counteract the higher being? And still, many people still can’t believe what is in front of them?  I was raised Christian and taught to go to Church every Sunday and love one another. But people are flawed, and some of my biggest challenges in life have come from people expecting me to be a certain way. I take the road less traveled and walk with the others who have chosen that road. I hope to gain knowledge from others as well as share mine, hoping we can grow together and help others starting on the same road.

Was I Cursed?

Because of my religious background, I did not believe that my abilities were from God at first. I was taught that Satan will trick you in so many ways and that he will use those who should be trusted against you.  Truly, I believe that Heaven and Hell exist (I have been on the outskirts of both). I have done the Church tradition; and I was even a youth leader. I trusted those around me, including the preacher. But then this same community called me a witch, and some called me an angel of Satan. There were threats to come to my house and hang me as a witch. Wow, so old school. I have met many who wanted to make my life a living hell.

As a result of the threats, I fell into a deep depression. But I also \spent that time searching and praying and getting to know God. I am grateful for that experience because it helped make me become who I am today.  The hateful and mean can make one do some soul searching.

Finding a New Home

At first, I felt I was lost and felt I had done everything wrong.  I truly thought Satan had a hold on me. I prayed and searched for answers.  That leads me to a religious community that put some amazing people in the right path for me.  I met preachers and spouses of preachers who had the same abilities; they told me that I was God’s child and very special and to not let others keep me from my job on earth.   I have a true heart for God and helping others. But I am not, though, like everyone else. I haven’t really been one to do what other people tell me to. But I do believe we will ultimately be judged for our actions, and I try to do the right thing. 

  None of us know exactly what God has planned for us or exactly what we are to do to serve.  We just have faith and live our daily lives and do right by others. God guides me each day to be where I need to be and I depend on him to help me each day.

I have some amazing people in my life through faith communities, and they are my biggest supporters as well as my prayer warriors.  Also, I enjoy talking with them and being able to have a spiritual conversation without feeling judged or condemned. I love that I can pray aloud with my friends and be myself.  

Learning Lessons

Because of the negative experiences I’ve had, I create a protective white light shield around me whenever I go out in the world.  I have learned I can put out an energy that can either push someone away and they not want to interact with me or send out energy and make them want to talk to me.  I am a fixer. If you are broken, I want to help. I am broken too, and I do not want anyone to feel as I have (and sometimes still do). I am still occasionally attacked by those who, I guess, have nothing better to do???   Finally, I do not believe my purpose is to please people — I want to do what is needed, and when my time comes I will pass over and do my job in the spiritual world.

The Road So Far

My abilities started years ago as a child.  We lived in a two-story house and my bedroom was at the top of the stairs with my door faced the landing. Every night I would hear someone coming up the stairs.  Sounded like a high-heeled shoe on one foot and nothing on the other. Every time I thought I would see a lady come up the stairs, but there was nothing. My mom told me it was the house settling.  Typical parenting from a busy mom who is my Hero to this day. She did not understand anything about spirits then. She raised me perfectly and is very supportive of me and my abilities.

My second interaction was with my aunt after she passed away.  Every weekend we would stay at my grandmother’s house, and sometimes my aunt and uncle and 2 cousins would come down to stay.  On Sunday mornings, my aunt always made sure she was up before everyone and would make coffee. I saw that as my opportunity to spend time with her.  She would put me on her lap and ask about school and other things. To me, she was an angel. Very loving and soft-spoken and genuine. I have heard her angry too– she was a mom.  She passed away when I was seven.  

The next weekend I stayed at my grandmother’s. I will have you know that a white angelic light went down the hall to the kitchen just like she did every time.  I lay there at first, thinking, did I just see that? How do I know that it is my aunt when all I saw was a light moving? I knew in my heart it was her. As I made my way to the kitchen, the light was gone.  I could feel her but not see her. Of course, no one believed me when I told them–it’s hard to wrap your head around something you do not understand.

Continuing Experiences

Before my first husband and I were married, his grandmother passed away.  He lived with her and we knew what it sounded like when she came down the hall to go to bed.  We would hear her at night sometimes coming down the hall to her room, which was our room after her passing.  I never saw her or communicated with her. I just knew she was there. After a while, she stopped walking down the hall.  

I became pregnant and that is when my abilities started changing.  I would know things and feel things and was developing that sixth sense.  At the time, I thought it was women’s intuition or mother’s intuition. I trusted it and never gave it a second thought.  When I became pregnant with twins the second time, and things really heightened. I still did not think anything of it.

Stay tuned for part two of Amy’s story coming soon!

The post Psychic Abilities in a Religious World, Part 1 appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

I too have these abilities and more.

From the Beginning

When I was six years old, we lived in an older two-story house. Every night, I would hear someone walking up the stairs.  It always sounded like this person had on one high heel shoe and nothing on the other foot.  Each night, I would hear the person walk up the steps knowing that it was just myself and my parents in the house. My mom did not wear high heels.  As the footsteps got closer to the top step I would expect to see a lady appear. 

My bedroom door looked out onto the top step and landing of the staircase, each time there was no one there.  I really didn’t understand what was happening.  I thought things like this happened to everyone.  That was my first experience with the spirit world.

Why Do I Have Abilities?

I often wonder what the big picture to having abilities is and why many have them. Why do we need to have the ability to see and communicate with spirit? If they have passed on, then I was always taught that they went to heaven or hell.  As I have gotten older, I now know that this is not the case.  We as humans with so much going on in our daily lives. We forget that there is more than just us out there.  Life is more than us.  I do believe that we each have abilities and it is up to us to embrace them or ignore them.

I do my best to help others. But sometimes I like to sit and discuss with others like me. I have many questions and some answers of my own.

Why Does One Not Cross to a Peaceful Place and Stay? 

I think this is due to the fact that the physical body is gone but the spirit is still here and still feels and cares.  Spirits want to know that their loved ones are ok and they watch over them. On that same note, some people are mean in life and stay that way in death.  These I believe contribute to the negative spirits that are encountered sometimes.  

Why Do People Think This is Satan’s Work?

I think this is because people are scared of what they don’t understand.  I am a Christian woman. I believe and have God in my heart. I do not believe that I need to show a fake self in a building every Sunday in hopes of getting into heaven.  I do believe that we were made in the image of God and need to love and help each other.  

I am not your traditional Christian.  I believe there is a higher being and I believe there are demonic beings out there.  Unfortunately, I found both in Church.  I have spoken with many preachers and other religious people, some do very much believe that humans can have abilities.  Some, however, believe it is Satan at work. 

I happen to find myself in such a church and they condemned me a witch and threatened my life.  What Christian action there!

A Privilege and Honor

I find it a privilege and honor to have my abilities and the knowledge to use them. I have found that I am a teacher of the awakening.  I can help people awaken to their abilities and send them on their way to help others.  This is like teaching your kids something new then watching them take it and add their knowledge to it and grow.  

I believe we are here to help others, living and passed on.  The greatest feeling is seeing others grow and help others.  I am a servant by nature and a behind the scenes kind of person.  I want to do the work but stay away from the limelight.  I do like praise sometimes but I have encountered so many people who attack that I would rather not deal with the upset.

Moving Forward

I learn something new every new moon and my abilities enhance as well. Over the last 10 years since I have embraced my abilities and grown, I can see and talk to spirit.  I see them as I see other people just their energy is different.  Still living energy but not vibrant like the living.  I can see energies and orbs and auras.  I have premonitions and can hold items and tell you things about the owner. 

On the other side, I can see demons and know when a person is evil.  I also can know what others are thinking about.  I feel as if I am crazy sometimes because I thought all people were the same as me and have learned that they are not.  So much happens in my brain every day that most people can’t handle in their normal lives that don’t embrace their abilities.  

In a tarot reading years ago, I was told I am like a raven, I can fly on the outskirts of heaven and hell and come back to the living.  I believe this because I have seen the outskirts and know what is on the other side of the vail.  I am not allowed to enter because my body is not dead.  The hardest thing is the knowledge and not being able to always use it.  Knowing that people have to experience things on their own in order to grow.  All the while I can see what is going to happen.  Most people don’t listen anyway so I just let them learn on their own.

Bringing Up the Next Generation

I love teaching others how to open up and embrace their abilities. It is a duty but so much enjoyment comes from being able to do what I do.  I love going on investigations with our paranormal team, interacting with spirits, learning their stories and helping if I can or just acknowledge them.  Plus, I can go to Walmart and see so many spirits with their loved ones.  

I know who to stay away from because I sense they are not nice at all.  It has kept me safe.  In life, there are many believers and nonbelievers.  It is hard to deal with people who are not wanting to learn but keep asking questions, or the ones that say “You should have seen that coming”.  I saw it but it had to happen.

Lifting the Veil

My life is a lot of unanswered question in a world where there is nothing proven to any of the abilities I have.  The world is opening up more and more every day. But there will always be those who will fight you 100% of the way just so they do not have to feel uncomfortable.  I believe we have to support each other and stick together and lean from each other.  There are so many people with so many levels of abilities out there that it may be over whelming.  But so worth the knowledge and friendship established.

There are so many questions that I still don’t have answers for.  It would be great to sit down with others like me that could give insight into the things I myself am not sure of.  I am in search of others who are on a higher level than myself and talk.  I try my best to help where I can and help people understand. 

Sometimes it is in vain, but this is who I am, and I am not changing.

What are your abilities and how do you help others?

The post Developing My Gifts: The Story of How I Became a Psychic Medium appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

My experiences have convinced me that there is definitely more to us then cells and bones and we go on after our physical body dies.  To me, this is a fact. I have lost more people in my life than I would like to admit and have always felt the ones I have lost before them around when it’s getting close to their end. Sometimes it’s just a feeling, a scent, a whisper or a soft touch making sure I know that my people will not be alone in the transition to their afterlife. I have witnessed some who see the ones that have passed before them while on their deathbed but this always seems to be dismissed as a hallucination, the medication they are taking, or that the person is so out of it they don’t know where they are, etc.

I am certain that we are all shown signs that our family/friends come at our end, but aren’t acknowledged or get dismissed in fear of judgement from others. Why does what we feel get disregarded when so many people believe “We will meet again” after we pass? I look forward to seeing everyone I have missed so much in my life and hope to get answers to the questions I have carried around for years. Paranormal investigations have more than proven with hard evidence that there are spirits, ghosts, demons, angels. etc. Some choose to accept this evidence as fact and some just won’t accept it. Technology has given paranormal investigators ways to communicate and measure the afterlife to further prove it’s existence.  Whether you believe or not I am sure that our loved ones stand in line to greet us when we pass, show us the way and most importantly let us know they have always been with us. We take love with us to our next destinations and I look forward to seeing who is there to greet me when it is my time to crossover.

The post In the End appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

The Story

In August of 1971, a woman named María Gómez Cámara noticed a stain appearing on her kitchen floor. It was taking on the form of a face. Given that the kitchen floor was made of concrete, it became even more interesting when it seemed like the face was moving. Poor María did her best to scrub out the stain to no avail. Her son and husband even went at the concrete floor with a pickaxe and cemented the floor. But it came back. More faces started to appear on the floor. When the mayor heard about this, he forbade further destruction of the floor. The face was cut out from the floor and taken for further study. I want to know what those results yielded.

Rumor has it that when the floor was excavated, skeletons were found 10 feet below the surface. Some of the skeletons didn’t even have skulls. The 700-year old remains were re interred at the Catholic cemetery. Apparently these faces were also able to communicate. Atlas Obscura claimed they were psychophonies, meaning they were communicated through a medium. Were the people who were buried underneath the concrete still there?

Even when the floor was completely replaced, a new face appeared two weeks later. So, it wasn’t over. It didn’t take long for the rumor to spread around the village and eventually cross oceans. The house became known as “La Casa de las Caras”, also known as “The House of the Faces.”

Thoughtography Theory

Many paranormal investigators believe that these faces were created through thoughtographic phenomenon, meaning that these images were “burned” onto the floor through psychic means. I suppose you could say that this is what causes spirits to appear in photos. If ghosts don’t have mass to reflect light, then they might burn their image onto a photograph. But what is interesting is that in this case, the faces weren’t created by the people who were buried below the concrete, but instead, Maria herself.

I’ve done some research on this phenomenon in the past, and I just can’t get on board with it. Yes, I believe that supernatural occurrences are possible, but I honestly have to see it to believe it. It’s one thing for the mind to have the ability to move things, but it’s a whole other level when the mind can “burn” images onto photos, concrete, wood, etc.

A Hoax?

Most skeptics agree that this phenomenon is a hoax. It is believed that Maria and her husband used a special chemical agent or paint to make the faces appear. Maria died in 2004, and apparently the faces remained long after she passed. Given that the faces created such a widespread buzz that resulted in numerous tourists visiting the house, the family benefited from financial gain in this situation. Just by Easter 1972, there were hundreds of tourists, and this continued for about 30 years.

In 1971, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior took an interest in the case. They appointed specialists to analyze the concrete and found that there were questionable substances like vinegar, a brown pigmentation, and an aggressive chemical compound. Apparently, the compound could be found at drugstores. The July 1993 edition of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research”  featured an article by Luis Ruiz-Noguez, who noted the presence of zinc, lead and chromium on the floor, which are common ingredients in paint. In the seventies, lead was a popular ingredient in paint. Others did infrared photography and found brush bristles. It’s believed that Maria’s son was the artist. Between paint and the possibility of an oxidizing chemical agent being used, we can pretty much consider this case closed.

Conclusion

Even when it is blatant that this was a hoax, there are still people who believe in the authenticity of these faces. Believe it or not, there are much more complex studies on this phenomenon that will break down the chemical compounds of the faces to really make the case for forgery. Any yet, it seems that people are ignoring the data and continue to believe in this. Videos about the Bélmez faces continue to go viral with people freaking out and checking their own concrete floors for signs of ghostly activity.

To me, people who believe in the faces NEED to believe in them. They provide some sort of hope that there is something out there much bigger than us. Some call it God, some may call it proof of the afterlife, something. It’s what you many call “faith.” Even when there has been scientific proof that maybe not all the events in the Bible happened as written, people still have faith that there is truth in the good book. Finding meaning in the simplest of things can make a difference between life and death for some people.

The post People in the Floor: The Forgery of the Bélmez Faces appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

My first experience of a story being relayed to me through pain was at St. Albans. It was with a young woman who suffered headaches. As she approached me, not only was I noticing the cold on my right side, I was also getting a headache in my right temple. It wasn’t mine, that was certain. As I sat there and listened to her, asking her questions, we were getting accurate responses on the Ovilus we were using. I have had migraine headaches since I was 15 years old, so I know my headaches. That morning I woke up with a headache in my right temple, but I didn’t bother taking anything for it, it simply went away.

My second experience was this past Saturday night during a second investigation at the Trivette Clinic. We went to the second floor to begin our investigation that night. After settling down, I noticed a dull ache under my ribs on the right side, then it was suddenly a sharp stabbing pain. I excused myself and walked outside holding my side. As soon as I walked through the front door the pain stopped. After going back in to rejoining the group, I sat down on the floor and it immediately started again. There was no dull ache, but rather a full on stabbing pain. I went back outside for the second time, the pain stopping immediately after going through the door. When I again went back inside to rejoin the group, the pain started half way up the staircase, but this time I connected with a man. After returning and siting back down on the floor, the pain was so intense I could barely breathe. When we started asking questions, we got some amazing responses. The pain was so intense that I began asking him to please stop hurting me. I also stated I had not given him permission to touch or affect me. The pain started easing up immediately. During this time, we were able to obtain some amazing communication through the spirit box.

Thinking back on both events, I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to hear their stories. I am also glad I can differentiate what belongs to me and what belongs to them. I am always open to hear what a spirit has to say, but I also understand how they choose to share it with us is not always up to us. Unlike the event at St. Albans, at Trivette Clinic I had nothing going on physically to warrant the pain I experienced during this event.

The post Feeling the Pain of the Dead appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.