{"id":1057,"date":"2012-08-09T07:25:20","date_gmt":"2012-08-09T07:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/areasontosmile\/?p=1057"},"modified":"2012-08-09T07:25:20","modified_gmt":"2012-08-09T07:25:20","slug":"qa-what-are-ghosts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/2012\/08\/qa-what-are-ghosts.html","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: \u2018What are Ghosts?\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Caesar had a bit of unfinished business!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Question\u00a0submitted via Formspring<\/a>:
\n\u201cWhat are ghosts? Are they here for revenge, created by improper burial or unfinished business or do they even exist at all?\u201d<\/p>\n

We talked about this question on a recent episode of\u00a0Rise UP with B. Dave Walters<\/a>, along with:
\nAngels and Spirit Guides! Whether or not ghosts are real, how to deal with things that upset you, how to stop running from love, how to stop picking jerks, how to forgive, and much more!<\/p>\n

When we talked recently about\u00a0whether or not everyone has a Guardian Angel<\/a>, I mentioned that there are many different kinds of \u2018spirits\u2019 that exist. Some of which once lived on Earth as people, or even animals; others never did and never will have a physical life as we know it. And yet, they are still very much \u2018real\u2019.<\/p>\n

To answer your particular question, different types of ghosts have different types of motivation. For instance, some ghosts are human beings who died with unfinished business of some sort; maybe they died violently, or with tremendous regrets. These types of restless spirits are what most horror movies that are \u2018based on a true story\u2019 all about.<\/p>\n

Another theory is that during periods of high energy, events can be recorded on an area, just like you record a video of something. So maybe a huge party or a violent battle might replay in a way that people can witness, but there is no consciousness or intelligence behind it. Poltergeists, on the other hand, usually occur in environments with prepubescent children; some researchers believe the phenomena is actually the children\u2019s uncontrolled\u00a0psychic abilities<\/a>\u00a0starting to manifest.<\/p>\n

So, as there are different types of haunting, there are different motivations for the spirit in question; and unfortunately, they are usually negative. It is very common to hear platitudes like \u2018they can\u2019t hurt you if you don\u2019t believe in them\u2019, but that\u2019s not necessarily true. For particularly negative spirits, fear makes them stronger, so if you aren\u2019t afraid at all, chances are they can only manifest very small effects, like going bump in the night. Of course, if fear is their power, courage is the counter; so if you are rooted in positive energy, you should be safe from most anything you come across. Fear is their gateway; if you have no fear, they have no room to enter.<\/p>\n

In the end, ghosts shouldn\u2019t really be feared, so much as pitied. For whatever reason, something is stopping them from finding rest and peaceful passage into the next world. If you ever find yourself in a haunted environment, pray or meditate to bring as much positive energy as you can into the space, and invite the presence of God or the angels into the place to show the spirit the way home.<\/p>\n

You may just save them from an eternity of restlessness, and if you think about it, is there any better gift you can give than that?<\/p>\n

You are great, and I love you!
\nAnd if you love me back, click ‘share’ up at the top!<\/p>\n

B. Dave Walters Writer, Life Coach, and Talk Radio Host<\/p>\n

Find out more about me:\u00a0http:\/\/about.me\/BDaveWalters<\/a><\/p>\n

Ask me anything:\u00a0http:\/\/formspring.me\/BDaveWalters<\/a><\/p>\n

Pages I support:
\nJesus and Buddha<\/a>\u00a0— Interfaith dialog<\/p>\n

Gnostic Theism<\/a>\u00a0— Religion and Spirituality for the 21st Century (Join the Movement!)<\/p>\n

Love One Another<\/a>\u00a0— A group for the coolest Spiritual people on the Internet!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question\u00a0submitted via Formspring: \u201cWhat are ghosts? Are they here for revenge, created by improper burial or unfinished business or do they even exist at all?\u201d We talked about this question on a recent episode of\u00a0Rise UP with B. Dave Walters, along with: Angels and Spirit Guides! Whether or not ghosts are real, how to deal…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":450,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,39,15,81,38,92,31,48],"tags":[3,34,13,12,11,109,82,70,36,14,26,25,5,50,18],"class_list":["post-1057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emotions-2","category-fear","category-god","category-healing","category-hope-inspiration","category-loss","category-love-2","category-spirituality","tag-b-dave-walters","tag-breakthroughs","tag-change","tag-emotions","tag-gnostic-theism","tag-god","tag-grief","tag-guilt","tag-hope","tag-life-coach","tag-peacelovemoney-com","tag-psychology","tag-rise-up","tag-spiritual-but-not-religious","tag-spiritual-coach"],"yoast_head":"\nQ&A: \u2018What are Ghosts?\u2019 - A Reason to Smile<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Q&A: \u2018What are Ghosts?\u2019 - A Reason to Smile\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question\u00a0submitted via Formspring: \u201cWhat are ghosts? Are they here for revenge, created by improper burial or unfinished business or do they even exist at all?\u201d We talked about this question on a recent episode of\u00a0Rise UP with B. Dave Walters, along with: Angels and Spirit Guides! Whether or not ghosts are real, how to deal…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/2012\/08\/qa-what-are-ghosts.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Reason to Smile\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-09T07:25:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/areasontosmile\/files\/2012\/08\/5278262675_ce468a9d30-219x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"B. 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