Last night I had an epiphany. There I was, sitting in my den, worrying unhappily about circumstances over which I had no control. It’s been a while since I’ve been in that frame of mind, but nonetheless, there I was working on other people’s problems. The more I thought about these issues, the more agitated I became. It was when I started frantically searching for my misplaced TV remote and subsequently knocked over a glass (which broke into a million pieces, of course) that I had my epiphany. I realized that it wasn’t just my clumsiness that caused the glass to break, it was the power of my negative thought energy that was to blame. I unknowingly stumbled upon what I now call the “poltergeist effect.”
All of this probably sounds a bit far off and “New Age” and, maybe it is. But the more she pondered on the subject, the more sense it made. All my suppressed agitation had manifested itself physically. As I continued along that line of thinking, looking back at past mistakes and foibles, it became even clearer that most of the bumps and bruises (so to speak) in my life were caused by my own state of mind.
Almost everyone has seen a movie or heard about poltergeists. The word “poltergeist”, translated from its Germanic origins, means ghost (geist) knocking (polter). These entities are generally described as annoying and mischievous spirits that make noises, create disturbances, and even throw objects and break them. They are considered destructive and disruptive. The buzzwords here are “destructive” and “disruptive.”
There is an incredible amount of literature available on poltergeists. According to most “experts” in this field, poltergeists are not to be confused with ghosts, nor are their activities to be confused with possession and/or hauntings. There are some differences between the two:
. A ghost is usually the spirit of a deceased person. Poltergeist activity revolves around living things.
. Ghosts usually appear only in places once familiar to the deceased. Poltergeists appear around people anytime, anywhere.
. A ghost chase is continuous and usually in the same areas. Poltergeist activity builds up to a climax and then begins again and can occur anywhere.
. Ghosts are not violent by nature. A poltergeist can inflict both physical and mental trauma.
Most researchers on this topic generally agree that the majority of recorded poltergeist activities revolve around personalities with mental disorders such as hysteria and schizophrenia, or emotional problems such as anger and anxiety. There are some cases where psychological therapy seemed to “exorcise” the poltergeist once the patient’s emotional problems were dealt with. Other paranormal experts believe that poltergeist activity is actually a form of psychokinesis (PK). PK is a paranormal occurrence that manifests when electrical energy within a person is unintentionally discharged. This “discharge” causes the destruction and/or inexplicable movement of inanimate objects. Paranormal, of course, is a catch-all term that covers everything from UFO sightings to ghosts and anything that can’t be explained scientifically.
Remember Uri Gellar and the spoon-bending craze of the 1970s and 1980s? Mr. Gellar is what is called a “paranormalist” and achieved a high level of celebrity status beginning with his spoon-bending technique in “the day.” This technique is something that he is apparently capable of teaching almost anyone with any attention span. According to his precepts, it’s simply a matter of imagining your energy as physical, then harnessing and projecting it.
I am not a physicist. Not a doctor. Not a psychiatrist. But if memory serves me correctly, energy cannot be “uncreated”. Obviously, when you are stressed or under tension there is a release of energy that causes the physical deterioration of the body. Ulcers, heart attacks, high blood pressure are manifestations of mental stress or spiritual malaise. When you get stressed or angry, the capillaries in your body constrict and interfere with the flow of blood in your system. The heart begins to pump harder to compensate. I’ve seen people with saliva coming out of their mouths because they were so upset about something. I myself have been so shaken with anger that I could not get a key in the door.
When you’re really angry, your body needs to vent some of that pent-up energy and you tend to drive faster, rush people, punch the wall. Everything seems to go wrong suddenly or take forever. Your adrenal glands start pumping. You could be quick to curse anything and everyone who gets in your way. The slightest thing could make you nervous. You tense up. Your muscles clump together. Your eyes bulge out of their sockets. Your face turns red and you feel flushed. You yell at people, usually your family or friends.
Come on, my “poltergeist effect” theory. You are manifesting a poltergeist-like energy that is being expelled outward, wreaking havoc in your environment. You’re sending out waves of heat. Energy. When I broke the glass in a state of agitation, I believe it was my inner, undirected energy that came out and created “harmful” physical energy. It is the vibration of this energy that causes the vessels to break against the ground.
Picture this. What if you could follow someone and videotape them while they’re in a state of total frenzy and having a breakdown? Then, modify the video by removing that person. What do you think you would see? You would see objects flying everywhere. You would hear doors slam. China being crushed. You would hear loud and disturbing noises. People and things would be knocked over. You might think you were watching a video about poltergeist and paranormal activity.
Following this premise, negative thoughts become an energy that causes (re)actions. That pulse of adrenaline when you’re angry or startled kicks in and disrupts your surroundings, leaving you feeling weak, shaky and exhausted. Something like a battery that has been discharged. You have depleted some internal reserve of energy when you project your poltergeist self.
So what would be the opposite of this poltergeist energy? Happy thoughts don’t project such an obvious malevolent energy. But while laughter doesn’t harden the arteries, it also doesn’t manifest physically and say, pick yourself a rose. Perhaps the output of positive energy is more fluid, more subtle and more diffuse. Could it be that a smile or a caress have as much power, or more, but with less drama?
When you are happy you are in harmony with yourself and with your environment. There are no grimaces, no jerky, jerky and sometimes destructive movements. If you could videotape the same person, who we imagined earlier in a state of anger, while in a positive state of mind, what would a similarly manipulated video show? You would probably see objects move, but in a smooth, orderly, and reasonable way. There would be a flow and a pattern to the big picture.
Everyone has heard the old adage that “laughter is the best medicine.” Just look at Joan Rivers. Still alive and kicking, or should I say, still alive and laughing! Being serene is medicinal in itself. On the other hand, how many people do you know who are taking yogi lessons to relieve stress? Or taking anger management courses? Anger upsets you in more ways than one. And it definitely impacts its environment.
The night I had my epiphany and broke the glass, I could feel that things were ready to go wrong. I could feel the vibration of all that negative energy starting to build up. I took several deep breaths and decided to change my thinking right then and there. I affirmed to myself that it was completely within my power NOT to allow these outside influences to disturb me. I made a conscious decision to keep my home and myself in harmony and not allow ourselves to be disturbed.
I know my little poltergeist theory sounds far-fetched and maybe a little dizzying, however, how many times have you felt “bad vibes”? Maybe those “vibes” are coming from your little “ghost knocking on the door.” They could even be considered a kind of warning. If you are one of those who has trouble managing anger and dealing with pressure, you could possibly save a lot of money by doing some creative self-therapy on your own.
Try to imagine those disruptive and disturbing feelings as the start of some nasty little entity that is dying to get out and kick some butt in your life. Are you really going to let that happen? Are you going to let some amorphous mass make a fool of you and harm your family or your friends? Hell no! You will control yourself and your environment. You are going to visualize yourself in control and not at the mercy of some ghostly little wannabe. You are going to name your demon, and then you are going to cast it out. “I hear you play…”