Do You Believe in GHOSTS?

Anvil Publishing Inc., 2011

        Do you believe in spiritual beings (ghosts)? If this question will be thrown back at me, then my answer will be a resounding YES. This is not to say though, that I have had encounters with “them”. I don’t want to in the first place! I personally believe that we share this world with spiritual beings, most especially those that are still earth bound, or are still attached to the physical plane (am I sounding like a psychic here?).

        Last December 12, on the occasion of my Dad’s first death anniversary, I bought a book at National Bookstore entitled Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Ghosts (but were afraid to ask) penned by the leading paranormal authority in our country, Mr. Jaime T. Licauco. Coincidence? I really don’t know. I simply chanced upon this book at the aforesaid book store and thought of buying it. I am in fact a fan of Mr. Licauco because he talks about paranormal phenomena with immense knowledge and eloquence. What further fuels this is that I marvel at stories about the supernatural.

        I am done with the book and so I want to share with you some very interesting facts about ghosts that I learned from Mr. Licauco’s book, which I am sure you people out there are also inclined to know. Here they are, in my own words (majority):

(1) Some spirits do not realize that they are already dead. This explains why such spirits do not leave places that they are very familiar with. Not only this, but they continue to do things that they were fond of doing while still alive. This explains why some houses are haunted. Not just houses but even offices, schools, hotels, and other structures or facilities. Spirits which have not yet elevated their level of consciousness will not be able to detach themselves from certain places and activities that are very memorable to them. (Tumutunog ba keyboard mo kahit wala gumagamit?)

(2) Babies can see ghosts. The reason behind is that babies have no preconceived notions yet of what can and cannot be seen. Their perceptions are still unbiased. Their minds are still open, in a sense that their judgment does not censor what they see. (May kausap ba si baby na hindi mo nakikita?) 

(3) The spirit of the dead can stay on earth for more than forty days. Ancient Egyptians believe that it takes forty days for a soul to travel in the underworld and cross the River Styx to get to the “other side.” This belief by the way is the origin of the Christian belief that the soul is still earthbound for a period of forty days, and goes to heaven after such period. Mr. Licauco believes otherwise. According to him, the soul’s stay on earth varies from one day to one hundred years! It depends largely on the soul’s level of awareness or consciousness. (Nagpaparamdam pa ba kahit tapos na ang forty days?)

Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

(4) Spirits are not affected by time. The spirit undergoes a series of transformations in the spiritual realm, as the consciousness of the spirit grows and is no longer earthbound or attached to the physical body. The spirit of a dear departed may appear to you as what he or she looked like during his or her remaining days. But since the spirit undergoes an evolution of some sort, he or she may appear to you next time during the prime of his or her life. (Ganda ba ng lola mo nun napanaginipan mo siya?) 

(5) Spirits also die. Literally speaking, a spirit can also die. This takes place when a spirit decides to go back to the physical world to inhabit another physical body (“reincarnates”). Thus, it dies in the spiritual world and goes back to the physical world. This is exactly the reverse of the idea, that when a person dies (in the physical realm), his or soul goes to the spiritual world. (Ang isang tao na ngayon mo lang nakilala ay para bang pamilyar na pamilyar sa iyo?)

  

Jaime T. Licauco

       
        Still want more? Then grab a copy now for only two hundred bucks. The book is a very interesting one, for it narrates real stories of people’s encounters with ghosts, including those of the author himself. However, we have our own judgments, and it is up to us whether we will believe in its contents or not. Are you feeling the presence of something there? Is it cold? Are you having goosebumps all over? Then it could be a.......Takbo na u!!!

Cory Quirino

"The true-to-life stories in this book open the door to skeptics and unbelievers...The most basic questions are answered with candor and realism. Easily digestible truths and facts can be extracted from his down-to-earth yet authoritative style..." 

                                                                             -CORY QUIRINO