Thanks for reading and contributing, Carolyn. The absolute best thing to do if you feel PTSD or anything unfinished from these experiences is to find a shaman to help you. I can do this work remotely, but if you let me know your location perhaps I can connect you with someone with whom you can work in person if that is preferred.

Traumatic experience with the paranormal could be as benign as the shock of being told information you weren’t prepared to know or that no one else could know. It could be as jarring as seeing objects move, hearing voices, seeing visitors… Fright can even come days later in some signal, synchronicity, or dream pointing back to the spirit interaction. The definition of ‘trauma’ varies person-to-person. The point is you know you’ve been traumatized if you can’t step out of the fear stemming from the original interaction.

Generally speaking, there are three layers to the aftermath of such spirit interactions. First is turning off the switch, which I call rebalancing your etheric field. Second is removing any errant life force that may be clinging to yours. Third is healing focused on balancing the energy shifts from all of the above.

There is no shortcut to finding the place in your etheric field that is vulnerable to the trauma and rebalancing it. Where it’s located is unique to the individual and the experience. If you are adept at working with the etheric field you can do this yourself, though I would still recommend allowing someone else to do it. The life impact of this kind of imbalance bears being thorough. There are many ways to balance the etheric field, all of which require some knowledge of life force and how to move it.  At this stage, the original trauma is healed, as are emotions that came with it.

Removing unnecessary energies attached to yours is called by many names depending on culture and circumstance—depossession, extraction, releasement. The state of having unneeded life force attached to yours is not good or bad. It’s not light or dark. There are no such judgments in shamanic work. What exists is a state in which you are not functioning at your desired ability and benevolent work can be done to re-establish balance.

Like attracts like. When you experience something that puts you into a panicked, anxious, or terrified state, you attract energy of that same state. Psychological models call this PTSD, or being “shell-shocked.” Spiritually speaking PTSD is recognized when you attract people who express the same feelings, situations reinforcing those feelings, or spirits/energies of similar trauma. You think the distress and building panic are yours, when in reality like attraction is merely exacerbating it. This scenario constitutes a spiritual emergency. Until you direct healing to the trigger for the trauma the anxiety and panic keep playing out and/or attracting more of the same. This is the spiritual truth of any trauma, not just those of paranormal origin.

After balancing the etheric field to restore calmness and removing unnecessary life force, healing is directed to all levels of your being, to help changes from the etheric and spiritual work to gently ground.

How About Demons? by Dr. Felicitas Goodman

That’s it, in a not-so-brief nutshell. If you want to understand “the switch”–what it is, how it functions, and how the spiritual technology of managing it crosses cultures and time, the definitive work in my opinion is How About Demons? by Felicitas D. Goodman.

Be well, Carolyn.

Thanks for your note, J. It’s good to hear from you again. J and I have worked together before; thus, some personal info is omitted from this inquiry. As we say in the computer programming world, so spirit communication follows the same rule: Garbage in, garbage out. Thus begins your first lesson in understanding the Middle World.

Spirit Board via About.com

The differences between mediumship and what I do as a shaman are intention and location. While shamans can act as mediums, they cast a much wider net. Generally speaking, most cultures of shamanism have a trifold cosmology, as in Upper World, Middle and Lower–none of which correspond with the assumed Abrahamic counterparts. The Middle World is the spirit layer of the Earth realm. It’s the place where souls become stuck when they die and don’t move on, when they have unfinished business. It’s the place of earthly astral travel and lucid dreaming. This is also part of the layer where faeries are, Nature spirits, devas. The kind of spirit communication that you described happens in the Middle World, which is generally the only layer most psychics and mediums access.

What that means is when you connect with spirits in the Middle layer, they’re most often not guides. They’re not beings committed to working for your benefit. They may be higher entities or lightbeings, but that’s where intention comes in. I teach a class on connecting safely with spirits in the Middle World according to your intentions and ability to navigate the spirit realms. Without a clear intention, as in just venturing out to see the spiritual manifestation of or in a space–particularly one you consider to be “haunted”–you ask for garden variety, you get garden variety. You have no control over with whom you connect. For many studying shamanism, the Middle World can be the trickiest to navigate simply because it is so close to our own reality. From the time we begin to explore the Middle World we are emotionally involved, and the kinds of spirits who hang out there know it. Boundaries are imperative.

The short version is that discarnate human spirits in the Middle World are usually there for a reason, the least of which is that they are not well. Generally speaking, souls and consciousness seek growth and widening their awareness. Staying stuck in one place, in form or out, is not part of the plan, and the state of being stuck often leads to suffering even if the spirit’s life and death were peaceful. Any communication you have with such souls is going to reflect their state of being. In the event that you have similar buttons in your psyche regarding that state of being, they will be pushed.

That is what I feel happened in your experience. Because of your past brushes with intentionally adverse souls, you have significant buttons around PTSD, particularly PTSD that is the result of a harmful paranormal interaction. The moral of that story is that you can’t just go unmitigated into spirit communication–even as the passenger. You really need a set intention and some education on what the varying options are in spirit communication, as well as how to connect with the kind of spirits who bring something meaningful to your life and quite possibly you to theirs. My sense is that the spirits you encountered were mirroring your latent fear of yourself, not expressing fear of or for you. Low vibration entities can’t originate much, but they can exacerbate your fears. They truly are parasitic life forces that draw on the strongest vibe nearest them. If your vibe of fear of your shadows in your past was strongest, that is what you received back in communication from them.

This en masse modern trend of paranormal investigators that just pop in and stir up trouble then wonder why they’re chronically sick, why they need to sleep with the lights on, why they’re uncomfortable around large groups of people… amuses me. This etheric tapping on the fishbowl is the opposite of bridgebuilding in the arena of soul work, and is the reason that I do not under any circumstances support garden variety spirit communication. If you (or your friends) don’t know what you’re doing, don’t risk being unable to undo it. Should you find residuals from the encounter with these spirits–things like paranoia, troublesome thought or behaviour patterns that disrupt your daily life–these are indications that your PTSD switch for paranormal experiences has been flipped on and you should seek help in turning it off.

Be well, J.

This discussion continues in  Healing the PTSD of Paranormal Probing.

Thanks for your note, Sara. The story I am shown is in your chakras. Your root chakra, which is the first of the primary chakras along the spine and is situated at the perineum, is very overactive. The root chakra does what it sounds like–it roots you as a spiritual being into the form of this world. Mastery of this chakra involves gaining the basic survival skills to stay alive as a formed being, and psychologically it entails that you become aware that you are part of a tribe, in preparation for the mastery of the second chakra, which is all about how one relates (or doesn’t) to the tribe, itself. An overactive root chakra can indeed give the effect of being locked in fight-or-flee instinct, the perpetual feeling that you are being pursued even when there is no threat. The other major point about the root chakra that is vivid for you relates back to the tribe–your family unit. You have a birth family unit, the one you learned to survive in and prepared you for surviving in the world, and you also have created a family unit, your son, whom will be leaving the tribe soon. In your time of peril you have returned to your original tribe, and in doing so have brought your created tribe with you. It’s good to have a support system, but in this case, sharing living space with your birth tribe is only creating more inner conflict for you. Another facet of this overactive root is OCD–Obsessive Compulsive Disorder behaviour. Virgos are given to wanting order and turning themselves inside out to preserve it. I feel like this is something you generally have good habits on, but the constant trigger to preserve survival has created self-harming habits, mostly at a mental level–spinning scenarios in your head until panic ensues, allowing irrational thoughts to trump approaches you know are more healthy. Sometimes we best manage by stepping back. We think that disengaging and being present is a passive act, when in reality it is the most challenging active pursuit. This is your greatest challenge right now, and as you master it, so shall your son.

Because connections of tribe are so interwoven with the way Saturn is affecting you, I do feel that this experience is karmic. Distress with your birth family is being unconsciously acted out by your son. He is expressing your repressed stress, which is a long-standing pattern between you that has only increased with Saturn’s focus. He is not consciously aware that he is playing out this dynamic. I have a sense of spinning wheels. He is at the threshold of stepping out into the world as an individual, and he feels that he should be able to help you more with the household. His own stress cripples him. This ‘inability to provide’ is creating a block for him. He is mature enough to feel the pinch and longing to help, but he doesn’t have the experience or emotional grounding to effectively help. Few his age do. Teens deal with ‘spinning’ by acting out. Rebellion feels productive, despite that it only divides and conquers. Crazy as he may be driving you, disciplining his behaviour won’t improve circumstances. His underlying stress has to be soothed, and the best way to do that is by example. Strategically placed, “My emotions are my own to process,” in talks with him can unconsciously help him let go of responsibilities that are yours alone to manage. It will also send him the signal to let you be the parent. Conversely, it will send the signal to him to be the child, ie, to listen and observe.

Your guides are only showing me how this karmic stress is affecting your chakra system. Because everything in our etheric form is connected, so, too, is the internal and external. It’s a matter of time before it affects other aspects of your wellbeing, your health in particular. Regardless of what is going on in your external right now, it is imperative that you address the internal. When I observe the rest of your chakra system, I can just make it out for the overwhelming size and brightness of your root chakra. The lower chakras pertain to our earthly growth and maturity, while the upper chakras relate our spiritual growth and maturity. Etherically speaking, what needs to happen is the root chakra energy needs to be moved up the spine, balanced throughout, as it were, and the life force that comes in through the crown–the topmost primary chakra in the form, needs to be drawn down. Whatever meditative technique appeals to you, bringing your awareness to this process will be helpful. Visualize doing it, feel it moving, imagine that primal balance taking place. If you can go to an energy worker to do this work for you, or if you’re comfortable with doing it at a distance I can do such work. Either way, some self-maintenance is required. I do not get information on job or new residence, because giving attention to your life force is imperative. My sense is that in giving yourself some solitude and care, you will have better perspective and opportunity will arise from that.

It’s been a long haul with Saturn. I completely empathize with you, Sara. You have come through it, and through the aftershock you are regaining your power. Be open to the wisdom Saturn leaves you, and some sweetness will prevail.

Thank you for your note, L. All signs point to observe. If he is not actively in therapy, it is appropriate for him to be. When I see his life force it is an enormous flame, which indicates to me that he is too active in his higher chakras (in his mind). He is in dire need of mental, emotional, and psychological soothing, and that is not something you can provide. You have tried, to the point of your own detriment. There is a myth in our culture that as life partners, we are and should be obligated to provide every ounce of support to our significant other. The reality is, that kind of fishbowl support burns out more relationships than it sustains. If that has been the case, it has to change. When a loved one is dealing with deep trauma, as he is, the insight and skill of a trained professional are required. No significant other can carry that load; no significant other should have to. For the balance to shift between you, both must see the value in finding an objective third person in whom he can confide, or you have to elect to make the changes in your life that you need for yourself. Sure, in relationships we weather the worst of each other. But we must also relish the best of each other, and that has not sustained your joining for some time. You cannot control him or direct him in self care. All you can do is make the suggestions. If he is already in therapy and not making progress, perhaps it’s time for a switch, or for you to start making plans independently of him. There are many styles of therapy, many approaches. It is time for him to do something, or to do something different; again, forcing him will do no good.

It’s also imperative for you to decide your reasons for staying in this relationship. If compassionate coexistence can no longer be honored by you, you are doing neither of you favors by staying together. If you are genuinely vested in staying, changes will be required on your part, as well. While his conditions have created friction in the relationship, the dynamic that has developed has been a joint endeavor. Be very honest with yourself about what you want from this relationship, and clearly discern if you are already finished. Sometimes it’s amazing what progress can be made from merely gathering more info.

Be well, L!

Namasté Kelley.

I have had a series of traumas, including being molested and raped in the past, and an extremely violent first marriage when I was sixteen. I was later held hostage and lingered near death and was raped. I experienced a shamanic death then and have been clean and sober for almost a year. I am now forty-six, have a wonderful therapist, good friends in AA, and my fiancé does his best to support me. I struggle with physical PTSD symptoms, depression and just trying to find my path through this while keeping an open heart and not feeling vengeful, not living as a victim. Do you have any insights that can help me find my balance? Leanna S.

Hi Leanna.

The initial thing I am told about your present life is that you have released a lot of karmic “congestion” in this manifestation of yourself, some of which wasn’t just yours. I see an etheric representation of you experiencing a vortex in your solar plexus that was the result of a dire wound. I do not know the source of the wound exactly, but it feels to have been inflicted suddenly, without warning in an experience of yourself that was not in a body but was completely etheric and at a higher expression of yourself than your earth consciousness. That wound became a sort of doorway for very traumatic things to pass through, any traumatic experiences and wounds belonging to whomever needed release, as well as collective trauma. I don’t feel that you have carried these random events around with you in this life but the imprint of them, the extremely wrenching vibration of them has been what you have carried. It’s a Like Attracts Like situation and not necessarily something you have been aware of until the events of this life—which were also working on the Like attraction principle. The shamanic awakening was the point at which you realized you did not need to stay in that vibration anymore and shifted your energy. That has allowed many painful dynamics in your life to stop effortlessly, though other dynamics did require some psychological expansion so that you could take the wisdom from them and incorporate it into your earth consciousness. What you are left with at this point is the emotional re-experiencing of these lost traumas that were not all yours, which directly correlates to the PTSD.

In part, knowing that they were not all your tragedies will create some automatic release of the emotions. The other part is realizing that while extremely difficult it was a needful act for yourself and others. That energy needed to be transmuted and you did it. You do not need to do it that way any longer, however. For you to try to would be unhealthy. The chemical use in your past is related to having still held this frequency of energy and attempting to transmute it through your solar plexus. Attempting to do this took you out of your body a great deal and the chemicals helped you smooth the transition back in. You don’t need chemicals to facilitate that shift anymore. You are in a body now. You function at an entirely different level; thus, you have a completely new range of skills at your disposal to move energy. You do, however, still carry the ability to help others heal great traumas, as you probably already know. I see a theta healing approach or some similar healing that is done on the higher aspects of beings, more so than at the earthly conscious level, is a strong skill for you. I think it would be helpful for you, as well, in soothing your physical concerns. There are great teachers of theta healing should you feel led in that direction as a practitioner.

You’ve come a long way, Leanna. Enjoy a greater peace on this next part of your journey.

Podcast 3 ~ Intentional Insights: Q&A From Within, PTSD, Etheric Trauma, and Karma

Thanks for your note, JT. I think it’s fantastic that you want to expand your experience of yourself by traveling into the Beyond. When I call in your guides and look with them at the dynamic of not being able to go into trance, I do indeed sense a masculine presence that is intentionally interfering with your plans. This feels like a spiritual influence rather than a physical presence in your life, and it is very much intercepting your astral travels. By the same token your guides are telling me that now is not the time for you to attempt to be journeying out, but to focus within. Their instruction is for you to concentrate on healing yourself at core levels before you delve too deeply into astral or spiritual travel. What is most telling is that these messages seem to be coming from the same force–beings who are looking after you. This masculine entity and your guides are working toward the same outcome–nudging you to take on the things you know need healing. I realize that the masculine presence seems very foreboding and frightening to you–if not very frustrating for pre-empting what you want to accomplish–but your guides indicate that they have tried various gentle ways to get you to focus on healing some painful wounds, to no avail. Spirit helpers are never above scare tactics when all else fails, and that is what appears to be happening here. Your guides have asked this little “devil” to try moving you toward the light, from another angle. When I interact with the wee red guy–and he is very small–he expresses frustration that despite his scariest warnings, you still try to push past him. A heavy magenta ribbon entwines through the cocoon of your life force that seems to be a protective boundary that this red entity has created to try to rein you in. In the dynamic you and they have constructed, it is futile to keep pushing yourself into trance. The act of pushing actually makes you more vulnerable. Your highest, most elevated caregivers are simply not supporting it at this time. To that end, this red entity expresses that his deepest desire is for you to realize the angelic support that is around you at your disposal to help you move through the painful things in your life.

That said, I see rips in your life force that seem to be the result of a hurt sustained over many years, of which you are aware. It is my feeling that this hurt is what you need to address before you have the grounding to venture into the ethers. It is also my feeling that you don’t want to face this hurt. I see that you have a very powerful affinity and ability to starwalk, that when well cultivated can help you help others. I ask your guides what healing work we can do in this meeting, and though they do allow some Universal healing to come through in this space, it is clear to me that some conscientious choices about balancing patterns in your life, releasing relationships that are harmful, and disconnecting from belief systems that don’t support your truth must be made before you can engage the help of others. Once you feel that you are in the space to move forward having a trusted circle of energy workers will be very beneficial to you. I also see a need to direct anger toward the sources that have caused harm, rather than taking your anger out on your physical form and in the way you speak to yourself. I highly encourage you to find a counselor or other trained professional who can help you release these tendencies and can teach you how to focus anger healthily. It is impossible to healthily sustain spirit travel when you are not at home in your own body. The message here is that’s a hazard to even try.

As airline workers instruct, put the mask on yourself first, then assist others. You cannot help other
s until you help yourself. Moreover, one of the core rites of passage in committing to a life of conscientious interdimensional Living is the willingness to be radically open and honest with one’s self. This tenet involves facing one’s horrors as thoroughly and compassionately as one’s joys. That said, I wholly support your wellbeing, JT.