GETTING SIGNS FROM THE OTHERS SIDE, OKAY BY US!

Take time to visit a cemetery during these lovely fall days!   You’ll be surprised at the history you’ll uncover if you take the time to read the inscriptions on the monuments. (Photo by Fred Schulz)

WHAT BRINGS ON THOSE SUDDEN OPPRESSIVE FEELINGS OUT AND ABOUT? SENSORY PERCEPTION OF WHO AND WHAT?


     THERE WAS A HIGH HILL-TOP ON ONE OF LAKE ROSSEAU'S ISLANDS, WHERE SUZANNE USED TO VISIT WITH HER FATHER, WHILE ON BOAT REPAIR CALLS FOR A LOCAL COTTAGER. SUZANNE'S FAMILY RAN THE WINDERMERE MARINA FROM THE MID 1960'S INTO THE 1970'S. THERE HAD BEEN A FIRE IN A BUILDING LOCATED ON THE HILL-SIDE, AND ONLY THE RUINS REMAINED. IN THIS AREA SUZANNE FELT THE ONSET OF THE OPPRESSIVE FEELING WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT......PONDERING IF IT WAS THE CASE, THAT SOME PARANORMAL ENTITY WASN'T PLEASED WITH VISITORS. AS A WANDERER OF THE WILDS, LAKESHORE, PASTURES, AND COTTAGE PROPERTIES OF LAKE ROSSEAU, IN THE AREA OF WINDERMERE, IT WAS RARE THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD HAPPEN, ESPECIALLY TO A KID, INTERESTED MORE SO IN THE POPULATION OF BUTTERFLIES AND WILD FLOWERS. SHE DEFINITELY HAD NO INTEREST IN GHOST HUNTING. BUT SHE FLED THIS AREA BECAUSE SHE FELT IT WAS GUARDED BY AN UNSEEN ENTITY. AH, A CHILD'S IMAGINATION RUN WILD. OR, BASIC INTUITION ABOUT THE PRESENCE OF SOME ATMOSPHERIC SITUATION, THAT DOESN'T PREVAIL A MOOD OF GOOD CHEER, AND  WELCOME TO INTERLOPERS.
     I AM NOT A SCHOLAR OF THE PARANORMAL. I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF QUALIFIED TO LECTURE ON THE FUNDAMENTALS OF EITHER THE PARANORMAL OR THE SUPERNATURAL. I HAD TO CEASE READING ABOUT THE SUPERNATURAL, VERSUS THE NATURAL, AS PENNED BY C.S. LEWIS, BECAUSE IT CONFOUNDED ME INA MOST PROFOUND WAY. SUZANNE AND I ARE JUST TWO PLAIN COUNRY FOLK, WHO HAVE ENJOYED OUR LIFE EXPERIENCES HERE IN MUSKOKA......AND SOME OF THESE ADVENTURES DID INVOLVE THINGS WE DIDN'T ANTICIPATE, AND CERTAINLY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND. BUT HAVING REASONABLE BACKGROUND IN HISTORICAL RESEARCH, AND WRITING UP OUR FINDS, WE DECIDED TO DOCUMENT OUR EXPERIENCES FOR THE POSTERITY OF THOSE, SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE, WHO WISH TO BROADEN THE FOLKLORE CHRONICLE, OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MUSKOKAN. AT PRESENT, WE FIND THE RESOURCES IN THIS AREA A LITTLE FLIMSY. WE'RE JUST DOING OUR PART TO FILL IN THE GREY AREAS.
     THERE ARE FOLKS WHO, WITH CONSIDERABLE JUSTIFICATION, WALK THROUGH THE GATES OF A CEMETERY, AND ARE IMMEDIATELY STRUCK BY A FEELING OF CONSUMING SADNESS; AND POTENTIALLY THE TO BE EXPECTED "OPPRESSIVE FEELING" WALKING OVER THE DECEASED, FROM THE PAGES OF COMMUNITY HISTORY. I AM ONE THOSE WHO FINDS CEMETERY WALKS VERY PEACEFUL, AND I WON'T KID YOU......EVEN UPLIFTING. HOW ABOUT YOU? IF LIKE WE DO, FOR EXAMPLE, IT MEANS TRUNDLING ALONG AS HISTORIANS DOING RESEARCH? HOW MIGHT YOU FEEL UNDER THAT CIRCUMSTANCE? MOST OF US, OF COURSE, ONLY VISIT CEMETERIES TO ATTEND FUNERALS AND ATTEND THE GRAVES OF FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. I AM LOOKING MORE AT THE HISTORICAL SIDE OF THINGS, AND IN ENGLAND, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME STARING AT THE TOMBS OF GREAT WRITERS, AND LEGENDARY POLITICIANS. THE ONLY PALL CAME, WHEN THE TOUR GUIDES PUSHED US ALONG, BEFORE I WAS FINISHED INHALING ALL THE HISTORY BEFORE ME. STANDING BESIDE THE TOMBS OF REVERED POETS GAVE ME SHIVERS, BUT IT WASN'T FROM THE TOUCH OF A GHOSTLY HAND. IT WAS JUST A MATTER OF RESPECT AND A LITTLE HERO WORSHIP, I SUPPOSE.
     SUZANNE AND I ARE NOT WORLD TRAVELLERS. I HAVE BEEN TO ENGLAND, AND THROUGH THE UNITED STATES TO FLORIDA MANY TIMES. SUZANNE HAS BEEN TO THE EAST COAST OF CANADA, FLORIDA AND CALIFORNIA. AND OF COURSE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN ONTARIO. WE ARE REGIONAL TRAVELLERS MORE SO THESE DAYS, AND WE FIND OUR DAYS FULL OF INTERESTING MINI-ADVENTURES; AND SELDOM END ANY DAY, WITHOUT HISTORICAL INFORMATION GATHERED FROM OUR NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS WITH TOWNSFOLK AND CUSTOMERS; HALING FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE DISTRICT AND PROVINCE. WE "TALK HISTORY," AT CURRIE'S MUSIC AND ANTIQUES, HERE ON THE MAIN STREET OF GRAVENHURST. SO WHILE WE ARE NOT AS WELL TRAVELLED AS MOST OF YOU, WE KNOW OUR REGION OF THE CONTINENT BETTER THAN MOST WHO PROUDLY CALL THEMSELVES MUSKOKANS. IT'S A HOBBY AND PROFESSION AT THE SAME TIME. WE CONTINUE TO GATHER INFORMATION AND HISTORICAL ANECDOTES, BECAUSE WE STILL GET RESEARCH AND WRITING GIGS BASED ON OUR HUNTING AND GATHERING REPUTATION. WHAT I'M GETTING AT, IS THAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN ALL KINDS OF HISTORY, ESPECIALLY FROM OUR REGION, AND OUR MISSIONS TO UNCOVER IT, PUT US IN HOUSEHOLDS, AND ON PROPRETIES ETC., ALL OVER THE PLACE......IN COMPANY OF A WIDE RANGE OF CURIOUS CHARACTERS. WITH THIS EXPOSURE TO THE TRUE LOCAL CHARACTER, IN THE CONTEMPORARY SENSE, WE ARE CONSTANTLY IN UNUSUAL RETROSPECTIVE SITUATIONS; HAVING TO TAKE THE PRESENT, PROJECT THE FUTURE, WHILE HAVING ONE FOOT FIRMLY ANCHORED IN THE PAST.....BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE EARNESTLY HUNTING FOR, ON THESE MINI ADVENTURES.
     BUT ON OUR TRAVELS, TOGETHER OR INDIVIDUALLY, WE HAVE VARIED FEELINGS ABOUT PLACES WE HAVE VISITED, AND ESPECIALLY THE PEOPLE WE MEET UP WITH OVER THE HOURS AND MILES INVESTED. WE BOTH HAVE KEEN SENSORY PERCEPTION, AS HISTORY SLEUTHS, AS WELL AS ANTIQUE COLLECTOR / DEALERS, AND WHILE SUZANNE WON'T ADMIT SHE CAN, (BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T LIKE SHOWING ALL HER CARDS) I CAN FEEL AURAS LIKE YOU CAN SMELL RIPE BANANAS IN THE KITCHEN. WHILE THERE ARE PYSCHICS WHO CAN SEE AURAS, I AM SENSITIVE TO THE PREVAILING ENERGY OF FOLKS I'M TALKING WITH, IN CLOSE QUARTERS. I DON'T JUDGE SOLELY BY THE AURA PRESENTED, BUT THE AMALGAMATION OF WHAT I FEEL, AND WHAT I LEARN, USUALLY PROVE ME RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING. SOME AURAS MAKE ME SOMEWHAT RESERVED ABOUT THE CONVERSATIONS I MIGHT OTHERWISE, BE INTERESTED IN GENERATING. THERE ARE TIMES, ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN OUR AURAS DON'T CLASH, AND I'M NOT REPELLED, AND THOSE SESSIONS WORK WELL AS A RULE. IT'S MORE DIFFICULT TO DESCRIBE IN WORDS, THAN TO APPRECIATE BY ACTUAL FRONT-LINE, PERSON TO PERSON EXPERIENCE. I'M SURE YOU PROBABLY HAVE SIMILAR FEELINGS AROUND CERTAIN PEOPLE. IT DOESN'T IMPLY THAT BECAUSE OUR AURAS DON'T ATTRACT ONE ANOTHER, THAT MY PARTNER IN CONVERSATION IS AN A--HOLE. IT JUST MEANS THAT THE FREE FLOW AND GOODWILL MAY TAKE A LITTLE TIME TO WORK THROUGH, AS A MATTER OF TRUSTING ONE ANOTHER. WHEN AURAS MESH FROM THE BEGINNING, CONVERSATIONS, AT LEAST FOR ME, ARE A LOT EASIER TO MATURE WITH MUTUAL TRUST. TRUST IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO AN HISTORIAN, BECAUSE I AM OFTEN PROVIDED WITH HIGHLY SENSITIVE INFORMATION THAT I MUST PROTECT. STORIES THAT HAVE BEEN TOLD TO ME FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION ONLY, THAT IF I EXPOSED, COULD DAMAGE SOMEONE'S REPUTATION, OR SULLY THE FAMILY NAME GOING BACK GENERATIONS.
     THERE IS A LADY I KNOW, WHO HAS AN AURA THAT CONFUSES ME. SHE WILL COME TO CHAT, AND INITIALLY, IT SEEMS OUR AURAS ARE COMPATIBLE AT THAT MOMENT, AS THE EASY-GOING CONVERSATION PROGRESSES. JUST AS SUDDENLY, I WILL SENSE......AS I MUST, THAT SHE'S TALKING THROUGH ME, NOT TO ME. IT'S AS IF I'VE BEEN FOOLED INTO THINKING I'M DEALING WITH A KINDRED SPIRIT, WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN AN ICY WIND COMES SLICING THROUGH ME, AND WHAT WAS, ONLY MOMENTS EARLIER, A COMPATIBLE RELATIONSHIP, TURNS MY SHIP BY FORCE INTO A RAGING STORM FRONT. AND YET, NONE OF THIS REFLECTS ON THE SLIGHTEST CHANGE OR POSTURING OF MY CONTEMPORARY. THERE IS NO FIST WAVING IN THE AIR, NO STERN LOOK, NO GLARING EYES......JUST A SUBTLE TWIST OF ENERGY I SUPPOSE; SOME UNANTICIPATED MANIFESTATION OF MOODINESS IN THE AIR.....AND POSSIBLY MORE FROM MY REACTION TO IT. THE CONVERSATION INEVITABLY WINDS-DOWN, AS A RESULT OF A TENSION BETWEEN US, AND WE SMILE OUR WAY OUT OF THE AWKWARD MOMENT. THIS HAPPENS SO SELDOM, IT SEEMS HARDLY WORTH A MENTION. BUT THE SAME THING HAPPENS OUT AND AROUND AS WELL, MUCH LIKE WALKING THROUGH A CEMETERY.
     I SHOULD MENTION, THAT THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES IN A CEMETERY, WHEN BOTH SUZANNE AND I WILL FEEL A PARTICULAR UNEASE, OR SENSE OF NEGATIVITY, POSSIBLY A SUDDEN SADNESS, AS IF THAT PARTICULAR GRAVESITE IS EMITTING ITS OWN PARANORMAL ESSENCE. MANY WHO ARE ARDENT BELIEVERS OF PARANORMAL OUTREACH CAPABILITIES, RECOGNIZE THAT CEMETERIES AREN'T HOTSPOTS FOR ENERGY, AS MOST OF US VOYEURS MIGHT THINK. THE GRAVES ARE FOR THE REMAINS OF THE DECEASED, NOT CONTAINMENT FOR THE UNFETTERED SOULS. IF THERE IS ANY HAUNTING OR WANDERING SPIRIT SITUATION, IT'S MORE LIKELY TO BE IN THE FORMER HOMES OF THOSE DECEASED. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT GRAVEYARDS DON'T ATTRACT ROAMING ENTITIES, BUT THE GHOSTS THERE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE ATTACHED TO THE BODIES BURIED WITHIN. POSSIBLY SOMEONE MADE A HUGE EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT, IN LIFE, OBSESSIVELY VISITING A GRAVE OF A LOVED-ONE; SUCH THAT EVEN WITH THEIR OWN DEMISE, THEIR SPIRIT KEEPS HOLDING VIGIL AT THE GRAVE IN QUESTION. JUST AN IDEA? BUT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED POCKETS OF NEGATIVE ENERGY ON OUR MANY CEMETERY WALKS, AND WHILE IT DOESN'T MEAN A GHOST IS HOVERING NEAR BY, IT DOES REMIND US TO WRITE DOWN THE FAMILY NAME, WHERE THE ENERGY WAS EXPERIENCED, SO THAT WE CAN DETERMINE LATER, IF THERE IS ANY LINK BETWEEN OUR VISIT AND POSSIBLY, SOME HISTORY WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, AT THAT TIME. WE LIVE WITH COINCIDENCES ALL THE TIME, AND MANY ARE SO WEIRD, YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE THEM, IF WE TOLD YOU.
     AS FOR CEMETERY OPPRESSION, THIS MIGHT TELL US, THAT WHATEVER IS PREVAILING UPON PASSERSBY, TO TAKE NOTICE; AS MORE OF A MESSAGE SITUATION, THAN JUST A KICK IN THE PANTS, SO TO SPEAK, TO "GET OFF MY GRAVE."
     TRAVELLING THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE, AND BACK TO OLD MUSKOKA HOMESTEADS, WE ENCOUNTER THESE SAME FEELINGS FREQUENTLY, THAT DON'T SCARE US OFF, AS IT MIGHT SOME; BUT RATHER REMIND US OF THE HUMANITY THAT ONCE CLEARED THESE PASTURES, TENDED THE CROPS AND LIVESTOCK, BUILT FAMILIES, AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSKOKA AS A PRODUCTIVE REGION OF THE PROVINCE. HISTORIANS OFTEN NEGLECT THE MORTAL / CHARACTER SIDE OF THE HISTORY-MAKERS, AND THIS SURELY GIVES US THE BLACK AND WHITE OF THE CHRONICLE, BUT NOT MUCH ABOUT THE HUMAN COMPONENT THAT SEWED IT ALL TOGETHER, WITH LOTS OF COLOR. WE ARE THE TYPE OF HISTORIANS WHO PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION TO THESE KIND OF SENSATIONS, AND NEVER EXPLORE A HOMESTEAD, OR FAMILY HOME, WITHOUT ALLOWING OURSELVES THE DISTINCT PRIVILEGE, OF MEETING THE REMAINING AURA OF WHAT THIS PLACE WAS ALL ABOUT, DURING ITS HEYDAY. I APPRECIATE THE SKELETON THE HISTORIAN PIECES TOGETHER BONE BY BONE, BUT UNLESS THERE IS A SOUL ATTACHED, IT'S JUST NUTS AND BOLTS. WE WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT UNFOLDED ON THESE PROPERTIES, AND TO APPRECIATE THE EMOTIONS EXPENDED HERE IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD. OTHERWISE, WE HAVE NOTHING MORE THAN SKELETAL REMAINS, AND THE LASTING SENSATION THAT WE'VE WASTED OUR TIME.
     WHEN WE DO COME UPON A PLACE, WHERE THERE IS A DISTINCT MOOD, OR AMALGAMATED PROPERTY AURA, OF ENERGY PAST, WE ASSUME THAT IT IS TRYING TO INFLUENCE US, ABOUT ITS HUMAN CHRONICLE, MINUS THE  HIGHLIGHTS, THAT MIGHT BE DOCUMENTED IN A SURVIVING WRITTEN JOURNAL. OFTEN WE GET THE FEELING, AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, BUT IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR ONE OF US TO GET A HEAD START, AND MENTION TO THE OTHER, ABOUT EITHER THE SUNNY FEELING, EVEN ON AN OVERCAST DAY; OR THE SULLEN, OPPRESSIVE FEELING, THAT MUCH SADNESS OCCURRED IN THIS PLACE, TO MASK WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN ITS MORE POSITIVE MOMENTS. WHILE THIS MAY SEEM ABSURD TO YOU, THAT WE MIGHT GET THESE SUBTLE MESSAGES, SEEMINGLY THE RESULT OF PARANORMAL ENERGY, EACH MORTAL POSSESSES THESE CAPABILITIES, VIA THE SENSORY PERCEPTION WE ARE BORN WITH, BUT OFTEN IGNORE OR UNDER-USE, LIKE OUR CREATIVE CAPABILITIES. WE ALL GET FEELINGS AND "VIBES" AS WE LIKE TO CALL THEM, AMONGST THE COMPANY WE KEEP, AND THE PLACES WE INEVITABLY TRAVEL, DAY TO DAY, YEAR TO YEAR. DOES THIS MEAN WE'RE MEDIUMS? NO, JUST MERE MORTALS, WHO WERE BORN WITH SOME PRETTY INTERESTING CAPABILITIES THAT AREN'T PSYCHIC AT ALL. JUST NORMAL STUFF FOR SENSING SAFE PASSAGE AND DANGEROUS LIAISONS.
     DURING EARTHQUAKES AND EVENTS OF TIDAL WAVES, FOR EXAMPLE, DO YOU FIND IT STRANGE HOW NON DOMESTICATED CRITTERS ARE KNOWN TO HEAD FOR HIGH GROUND INSTINCTIVELY? HOW DO NATURE'S CREATURES IN THE WILDS, KNOW THE SIGNS OF DANGEROUS WEATHER EVENTS, OR KNOW MONTHS IN ADVANCE, IF FOOD SUPPLY IS GOING TO BE SHORT, DURING WHAT MAY BE A DIFFICULT, COLD AND LONG WINTER SEASON? SOME MIGHT SAY THAT THE WAY WE LIVE TODAY, WITH SO MANY LIFE SUPPORTS, AND COMFORTS, HAS DULLED OUR SENSORY PERCEPTION. WHEN IT DOES KICK IN, WE IMMEDIATELY THINK IT WAS SOMETHING PARANORMAL, WHEN ALL IT WAS, IN PRACTICE, WAS THE GOOD SENSES YOU WERE BORN WITH, PICKING UP ON THE PREVAILING VIBES.
     AS FOR VIBES FROM THOSE WHO HAVE CROSSED OVER? WELL, YOU PRETTY MUCH HAVE TO BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH, TO APPRECIATE, SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING, JUST HOW OPEN THE LINE REALLY IS. AS SUZANNE AND I DO, VERY MUCH BELIEVE IN THE AFTER-LIFE, EVEN WITH A MODEST BELIEF IN RELIGION, WE ARE VERY KEEN TO NATURAL AND EVEN SUPERNATURAL MESSAGES......EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT THE MESSAGES MEAN. I DON'T WANT TO STOP GETTING THEM, FOR FEAR I'LL MISS SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT; AND REGRET MY DULLED SENSES KEPT ME OUT OF THE LOOP.
I HATE THAT FEELING.
     THANKS FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. IT'S ALWAYS A PLEAURE WHEN WE MEET UP AGAIN. WE ARE REALLY QUITE NORMAL GAD-ABOUTS, AND JUST BECAUSE WE TALK WITH DEAD PEOPLE, DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE ANY STRANGER THAN ANY ONE ELSE. I SUPPOSE WE'RE A LITTLE LIKE THE LADY WHO COMPLAINED ABOUT HER YOUNG SON THINKING HE WAS A CHICKEN. WHEN A FRIEND SUGGESTED SHE GET HER SON SOME MENTAL HEALTH CARE, SHE CONFESSED TO HAVING CONSIDERED IT, BUT DIDN'T FOR FEAR HE'D STOPY LAYING EGGS. IF WE DIDN'T HAVE PROOF THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RECEIVED MESSAGES FROM THE BEYOND, WELL, WE WOULD SIGN OUR NAMES TO A TOME LIKE THIS.
     SEE YOU AGAIN SOON. HOPE YOU LIKE THE PHOTOGRAPH BY FRED SCHULZ, AT THE START OF TODAY'S BLOG.