EDITOR’S NOTE
HOW IS IT GOING TO END?
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WISH TO HAVE ANY DISCUSSIONS ON THE CONTENT OF ‘HOW IS IT GOING TO END’, DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT THE EDITOR AT: EMAIL : AVAFRANCESJ@GMAIL.COM INSTAGRAM : AVAFRANCESJ / AVAFRANCESJEAN
CHAPTER 1: A FEELING WHAT DOES A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE FEEL LIKE? WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE IN A LIMINAL SPACE? CAN WE ALL RELATE TO LIMINAL SPACE?
CHAPTER 2: A CONNECTION HOW DO WE VISUALISE SPIRITS? HOW DO WE PERFORM SPIRITUAL CONNECTIONS? HOW DO SPIRITS CONNECT TO US?
CHAPTER 3: A CONCLUSION WHERE DOES HUMAN SPIRITUALITY STEM FROM? WHAT DOES THE OTHER SIDE LOOK LIKE? HOW DO WE REACH THE OTHER SIDE?
‘HOW IS IT GOING TO END?’ WAS BORN OUT OF MY FASCINATION WITH ALL THINGS OTHERWORLDLY, THE REALM OUTSIDE OF OUR OWN THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW ANYTHING CONCRETE ABOUT. IN ATTEMPTING TO UNDERSTAND MY OWN EXPERIENCES WITH SPIRITUALITY, I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THROUGH ARTISTIC MEANS, I COULD HELP OTHERS DO THE SAME, BY PROVIDING RESOURCES AND INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE TO FIND THEIR OWN SPIRITUAL PATH, AND MAKE SENSE OF SUCH A PROFOUND CONCEPT. THIS PUBLICATION IS A CREATIVE EXPLORATION OF MY OWN CURIOSITY WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD, AND I HOPE IT HELPS OTHERS ON THEIR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, TAKING TIME TO CONSIDER HOW IS IT GOING TO END?
WHAT DOES A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE FEEL LIKE?
“BETWE EN THE AG FIGURE OF A GIR ES OF TWO AND L IN MY FOUR, I IT WAS A ROO CON LL AND HAD I TALKED ABOU M. I COULD ONLY STANTLY TALKE DA T. SHE T SEE HER SOME FO OLD ME REMEMB HEAD FR BOUT THIS RM OF C THAT SH ER HER ANCER, OM MY C E LIVED TE B RIB, B FIRE BE IN THE V CAUSE T LLING ME ABOU UT EVENTUALLY ICTORIA UT HE CANC T HOW G DIED IN OF MY C N ERA A L ER WAS HILDHOO SO PAIN AD SHE WAS TH FIRE. I EXPLICIT D UP UN F LY AT SHE H U TIL I WA S ABOUT L. IT’S MY ONLY AD DIED - CRYST IN A REALLY NINE.” OBELLE CLEAR M ROSACO EMORY RDE
EONE GOT SOM E W , E S U Y Y OLD HO PARENTL HOST IN M T AND HE WAS AP G ’T A N E S B A O W SED T E IT OU WAR AND NCED “THERE U D HELP US FIGUR E IN THE N IE R O E E P N M X A O E LSO LED S A IL E K TO COME V SED, E I’ . H E E ER SID BERS PAS MY SHOULDER.” ECAUS H M B T E O K M C E Y U H T IL T S TO LOSE FAM BODY TOUCHING MOVE ON TER MY C F ABLE TO A SOME A N E ENOM DREAMS, H , P S T D H IR IG E N W SS SLEEPLE SUCH AS RCINIAK -ZUZI MA “I HAVE S EEN A GH OST ME. DURIN G SLEEP P AS PLAIN AS DAY A WOMAN ARALYSIS PEOPLE H SAT ON M ,I ANGING F Y BED WA ROM NOO HAVE SEEN A WOM FEELING. TCHING A S N LOOKIN ES, SHAPE I’VE ALSO G ME IN T S, SOUND HAD OUT PROJECT HE E S O , F BODY E ION, AND XPERIENC AND ENTITIES IN SIG YE, CONVULS MY LIFE F IO E HT AND S N OR SUCH AS S WITH AN ASTRAL ACCOMPA HEALING.” THE BETTER, STAR N TING MY J Y OURNEY O ING PEAK WHICH C F SELF-DIS HANGED COVERY A -SAMMM A N D GNEW
E WAS A T I BELIEV A H W G IN D ON’T CHILD HOL LOUSY’. I D AIRS AS A T D S N N UITE A IE W R O F D Y ALKED IS IS M SHE WAS Q H W T I A ‘T H G S T T IN D N N E N E A D “ONE EV LD MY PAR CLOTHES SE, I HEAR ND AND TO SIDES HER Y NIGHT IN THE HOU A E H B S R IT E Y IR H P M T S . R OU ME AT ALL LEGS. EVE R MUCH AB N’T SCARE , WITHOUT T I WAS A ID REMEMBE E A D H IT T Y H E R W H , E T E H T T R U U O B M IG G F Y M IN NNECT ED AND GHOSTLY TRY TO CO AND WARN D OSS THE L L E R U S C O U A O W S H P S E R U IRIT ROSS FOOTST CAME TO O M, SAYING THAT SP E WALK AC D R N U IE IG R F F A ’S G IU MOTHER D OF MED KEPT SEEIN SET ME AS I DIDN’T ’, SOME KIN HOUSES, I D E V O D TO UP Y THAT M ‘CHANNEL E HEN W OM- IT USE HAT SHE WAS A LAD W O . R E H M T A H B G Y IDN’T T THROU STAND IN M ERSON. I WAS TOLD D ME AS I D IE D R N R A O G W IN D P LY MY LAN IT REAL R IN MY AW THIS OUSE, AND WITH. I STILL SEE HE ND WHY I S UNDERSTA SLY PASSED IN THE H T C TO CONNE IOU CHOSE ME HAD PREV E H S Y H W ND UNDERSTA ETIMES.” M O S HOUSE SON TE ANDER -CHARLOT
“IT MAY NOT BE MUCH LIGHT BUT IT BEATS THE DARKNESS”
- THE LAUGHING HEART, CHARLES BUKOWSKI
WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE IN A LIMINAL SPACE?
LIMINAL SPACES ARE OFTEN DESCRIBED AS PLACES THAT ARE TRANSITIONAL, LEADING YOU FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER. THIS PLACE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PHYSICAL, BUT CAN ALSO REPRESENT A TIME IN OUR LIVES AND STATE OF EXISTENCE, SUCH AS FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADULTHOOD, OR BETWEEN DEATH AND AN AFTERLIFE FOR EXAMPLE. PHYSICAL LIMINAL SPACES ARE FREQUENTLY REFERRED TO AS PLACES THAT FEEL UNSETTLING AND FULL OF ENERGY IN SOME WAY, FOR EXAMPLE A CAR PARK IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING, OR A SCHOOL CLASSROOM IN SUMMER WHEN NOBODY ELSE IS PRESENT. ORIGINALLY, THE TERM IS DERIVED FROM DISCUSSING PHYSICAL PLACES WHEN A TRANSITION TAKES PLACE, FOR EXAMPLE CAR PARKS OR STAIRWELLS, BUT UPON SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS, THE TERM HAS EXPANDED. PEOPLE NOW LOOSELY USE THE TERM DESCRIBING ANY SPACE BEING USED OUTSIDE OF ITS USUAL CONTEXT, OR EVEN PLACES THAT FEEL AS IF ENERGY OR SPIRIT IS PRESENT. FOR INSTANCE, A SPIRIT MAY BE TRAPPED IN A PLACE THAT FEELS ENERGETIC, UNABLE TO PASS OVER, MEANING THE SPACE APPEARS LIMINAL TO US ON EARTH.
IF YOU HAD INTERNET ACCESS IN THE EARLY 2010’S, YOU’RE PROBABLY AWARE OF ‘THE BACKROOMS’ CREEPYPASTA. THEY ARE A SERIES OF FLOORS THAT YOU ACCESS WITH CERTAIN LEVELS BY ‘NO-CLIPPING’ OUT OF REALITY, A POPULAR TERM USED BY GAMERS TO DESCRIBE WHEN YOU EXIT THE USUAL MAP OF A GAME. THE VISUALS ASSOCIATED WITH ‘THE BACKROOMS’ ARE OFTEN RELATIVE TO CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF BEING LEFT TO EXPLORE DINGY OFFICE BLOCKS, SHOPPING MALLS OR FUNCTION HALLS FOR EXAMPLE, WITH DINGY LIGHTING, STAINED YELLOW WALLS AND PATTERNED, AGED CARPETS. AFTER CONDUCTING A SURVEY, 67% OF INDIVIDUALS RELATE TO THE VISUALS OF THE BACKROOMS, FEELING AS IF THEY’D SEEN IT BEFORE SOMEHOW. OUT OF THIS POPULATION, 86% RELATED THESE VISUALS BACK TO CHILDHOOD, BUT HOTELS, DREAMS AND DISTANT MEMORIES ARE ALSO NOTED AS COMMON PLACES ‘THE BACKROOMS’ HAVE BEEN SEEN IN BEFORE. MANY PEOPLE HAVE DESCRIBED THEM AS A FORM OF ‘LIMINAL SPACE’, A PLACE THAT IS DESCRIBED AS TRANSITIONAL OR FULL OF SPIRIT ENERGY- A PLACE WHERE SOMETHING FEELS NOT QUITE RIGHT, OR INTIMIDATING IN SOME WAY. THIS LEADS ME TO QUESTION IF WE FEEL SUCH A CONNECTION BETWEEN ‘THE BACKROOMS’ AND OUR CHILDHOOD- IS OUR EARLY YEARS WHERE OUR SPIRITUALITY IS ROOTED AND BEGUN? CAN WE ALL IN SOME WAY THINK BACK TO A PLACE OR A TIME IN OUR LIVES WHERE WE FELT OURSELVES CONNECTING TO ENERGY, AND WHY IS THIS OFTEN IN OUR CHILDHOOD?
AN EXPLORATION INTO SHADOW PEOPLE
WHEN CONSIDERING HOW WE VISUALISE SPIRITS, OUR MINDS GO TO A RANGE OF DIFFERENT IMAGES, SOME OF THEM MORE THREATENING THAN OTHERS. ONE COMMON VISUAL THAT HAS STAYED WITHIN SPIRITUAL CULTURE FOR CENTURIES IS THE CONCEPT OF SHADOW PEOPLE. THEY REVOLVE AROUND QUESTIONING EXACTLY WHAT THE SHADOWS THAT FOLLOW US EVERYDAY ARE, THEY COULD BE A SPIRIT, OR SOMETHING MORE SINISTER FROM THE OTHER SIDE. SOME BELIEVE THEY EVEN REPRESENT THE DARKEST PARTS OF OURSELVES. ALONGSIDE THIS IS THE IDEA OF THE SHADOW REALM, SPARKED FROM THE STORY OF GILLES DE RAIS WHO LURED CHILDREN BACK TO HIS CASTLE TO MEET THEIR DOOM. AFTER YEARS OF SPECULATION ON SHADOW PEOPLE AND WHAT THEY ARE OR REPRESENT, THE SLENDERMAN CREEPYPASTA ORIGINATED, A MODERN INTERPRETATION OF A SHADOW PERSON WHO REACHES PEOPLE THROUGH THEIR COMPUTER SCREENS AND DRAGGING THEM INTO THE FOREST, DRIVING HIS VICTIMS INSANE WITH HIS VOIDLESS FACE. DESPITE SHADOW PEOPLE BEING ONE OF THE MOST COMMON PARANORMAL SIGHTINGS IN HISTORY, THERE IS STILL NO SOLID EXPLANATION FOR WHAT THEY ARE, IF THEY REALLY EXIST, AND WHAT THEIR INTENTIONS MAY BE.
INTERVIEW WITH PARAPSYCHOLOGIST CAL COOPER:
DO YOU THINK SPIRITS WITH VARYING INTENTIONS SHOW THEMSELVES IN DIFFERENT WAYS? IN INSTANCES OF DANGEROUS SPIRITS, PEOPLE TEND TO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE OR SEE THREATENING FIGURES OR SYMBOLIC PHENOMENA, OFTEN DANGEROUS DOGS. IT DEPENDS ON OUR HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE OF A BUILDING AND IF THE PERSON KNEW THIS HISTORY PRIOR TO AN EXPERIENCE. OVERALL, THERE IS OFTEN A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIFFERENT SPIRITS PRESENTATIONS. IS THERE ANY PHENOMENON YOU HEAR OF THAT IS VERY RARE OR COMMON? TELEPATHY IS SEEN AS VERY COMMON, AS 70% OF PEOPLE ADMIT TO EXPERIENCING THIS PHENOMENA. OVER 50% OF PEOPLE ALSO HAVE FELT BEREAVEMENT PHENOMENA- IT IS OFTEN SEEN AS STRANGER TO NOT EXPERIENCE THIS WHEN SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU PASSES. AUTHENTIC POLTERGEIST CASES, HOWEVER, ARE QUITE RARE IN COMPARISON TO THOSE SUCH AS TELEPATHY, TELEPHONE OR BEREAVEMENT PHENOMENA. VERY SPECIFIC MEDIUMS THAT USE AUTHENTIC TECHNIQUE RATHER THAN COMMON TECHNIQUES WE SEE IN THE MEDIA, ARE ALSO VERY RARE TO FIND.
DO YOU HAVE ANY NOTABLE CLIENT STORIES? ONE CLIENT WHO WAS AN END OF LIFE NURSE SAW CLIENTS INTERACT WITH PATIENTS ON THE WARD WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY PASSED. SHE ALSO OFTEN SAW PHANTOM NURSES WHO HAD PASSED, ALONGSIDE SOME OF HER COLLEAGUES. I ALSO HAD ANOTHER CLIENT WHOSE HUSBAND PASSED, AND THEY MADE AN AGREEMENT THAT WHOEVER PASSED AWAY FIRST WOULD GIVE A SIGN FROM THE OTHER SIDE. SHE EXPERIENCED ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE AND DREAMT OF HIM FREQUENTLY. AT HIS FUNERAL, A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY WHO WAS A SKEPTIC’S DRINK SLID ACROSS THE TABLE AND ONTO THE FLOOR, HOWEVER IT STAYED UPRIGHT AND DIDNT SMASH, WITH SEVEN WITNESSES TO THE EVENT. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED ANY PHENOMENA YOURSELF? IN A FEW HAUNTED INVESTIGATIONS I HAVE. FOR EXAMPLE IN ONE OLD COTTON MILL, WE HEARD TAPPING ON THE WALLS BEFORE A ROCK ROLLED ACROSS THE FLOOR BEFORE US- WHEN WE PICKED IT UP IT WAS BOILING HOT. THERE WAS NO SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION FOR IT.
HOW DO SPIRITS CONNECT TO US?
AN EXPLORATION INTO THE MODERN USE OF ELECTRONIC VOICE PHENOMENON, ALSO COMMONLY KNOWN AS EVP, AN UPDATED METHOD WITHIN GHOST-HUNTING TO CAPTURE MESSAGES FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD THROUGH SPOKEN EXCERPTS CAUGHT ON AUDIO RECORDERS. MANY TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GHOST-HUNTERS RELY ON EVP TO CATCH MEANINGFUL AUDIO MATERIAL TO FIND OUT WHAT SPIRITS WANT FROM US, WHY THEY MAY BE HAUNTING A CERTAIN AREA, AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO FIX THIS FOR THEM.
WHEN INVESTIGATING SPIRITUAL AND PARANORMAL PHENOMENA, IT SEEMS THAT SPIRITS CAN EVOLVE WITH THE TIMES JUST AS QUICKLY AS WE DO. A COMMON MODERN-DAY METHOD FOR CAPTURING SPIRITUAL PRESENCE IS ELECTRONIC VOICE PHENOMENA, OR EVP. WHEN GHOST HUNTING, PROFESSIONALS CAN USE AUDIO RECORDERS TO CAPTURE FOOTAGE OF SOUNDS AND NOISES, WHICH CAN BE LATER ANALYSED FOR MESSAGES, WORDS OR DIALOGUE FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD. THE USE OF EVP IS A RESULT OF BELIEVERS FEELING IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR A SKEPTIC TO BE ABLE TO DENY AUDIBLE EVIDENCE.
HOWEVER, SCIENCE HAS ALSO PUT IN ITS WORD ON THE LEGIBILITY OF EVP PHENOMENA. IN SOME CASES, MESSAGES CAN JUST BE CAPTURED FROM OTHER RADIO STATIONS ON THE LINE, OR EVEN THE VOICES OF PEOPLE ON THE PARANORMAL TEAM. THERE ARE EVEN CASES WHERE PEOPLE BELIEVE AUDIO HAS BEEN DOCTORED IN A STUDIO SETTING TO MAKE EXAMPLES SEEM MORE LEGIBLE. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THERE ARE THREE CLASSES OF EVP. CLASS A IS RATHER RARE, WITH CRYSTAL CLEAR AUDIBLE WORDS OR VOICES BEING CAPTURED. CLASS B IS A BIT HARDER TO UNDERSTAND AND MAY TAKE SOME INTERPRETATION, WHEREAS CLASS C EXAMPLES ARE VERY HARD TO COMPREHEND, SOMETIMES TAKING WEEKS TO PLOT ANY LEGIBLE VOICES. THE NEXT STAGE AFTER PLOTTING ANY AUDIBLE EVIDENCE IS TRYING TO TRACK WHICH DIRECTION THE VOICE CAME FROM, AND HOW FAR AWAY IT WAS.
AN INTROSPECT INTO SHAMANISM, THE FIRST SPIRITUAL PRACTICE INTERVIEW WITH EWA PIETRAS, SHAMANIC PRACTITIONER
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SPIRITUALITY? I AM A TRAVELLER, FOREVER CURIOUS ABOUT THE MYSTERY OF LIFE. I CARE ABOUT AUTHENTICITY, HONESTY AND DEEP CONNECTION. I STAND BY TRUTH- BELIEVE IN COMMUNITY AND LOVE SIMPLICITY. I DO NOT FOLLOW ANY ORGANISED RELIGION, THE CLOSEST TO MY HEART IS SHAMANISM, AS THE WORLDS OLDEST SPIRITUAL PRACTICE AND WAY OF LIFE. A PATH THAT CONNECTS ME TO NATURE AND ALL OF CREATION. HOW WERE YOU INTRODUCED TO SHAMANISM? MY EXPLORATION STARTED AFTER EXPERIENCING SOME STRUGGLES AND EMOTIONAL PAIN IN LIFE. LOOKING FOR ANSWERS EVERYWHERE, I FOUND SHAMANISM. I INTERACTED WITH SHAMANS FROM DIFFERENT INDIGENOUS TRIBES AND WAS INTRODUCED TO PLANT MEDICINE HEALING. ARE THERE ANY RITUALS TO CONNECT TO THE OTHER SIDE? I DO NOT SEE IT AS A RELIGION, BUT A WAY OF LIFE THAT RESPECTS ALL- IT IS A VERY HUMBLING PRACTICE. THERE ARE MANY RITUALS THAT CAN HELP YOU OPEN UP TO LIFE AND CHANGE OUR PERSPECTIVE. FROM A VERY SIMPLE ONE LIKE SPENDING TIME IN NATURE AND ALIGNING WITH ITS CYCLES, WORKING WITH ANIMAL SPIRITS AND PLANTS. YOU CAN ALSO UNDERTAKE POWER JOURNEYS AND INITIATIONS- ALL THESE PRACTICES MEAN TO HELP WITH PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION, HEALING AND EXPLORATION BUT ALSO MARK OUR JOURNEY BY PROVIDING A RITE OF PASSAGE.
ARE THERE ANY SHAMANIC BELIEFS ON THE AFTERLIFE? THERE ARE MANY WAYS I CAN ANSWER THIS. SHAMANISM DOESN’T HAVE ANY BELIEFS THAT YOU CAN FOLLOW, ONLY ROADMAPS. YOU NEED TO UNDERTAKE THE JOURNEY AND FIND THE TRUTH FOR YOURSELF.
ARE THERE ANY WAYS TO CONNECT TO SPIRITS? YES, I RELATE TO THIS. USING DIFFERENT DOORWAYS SUCH AS PSYCHOACTIVE PLANTS, BEAT OF THE DRUM AND DANCE, WE CAN ENTER A TRANCE-LIKE STATE TO LEAVE THE CONSTRAINT OF THE RATIONAL MIND. ENTERING SACRED SPACES OF INTERCONECTEDNESS WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR OWN TRUTH AND COMMUNICATE WITH SPIRITS. I CONNECTED THIS WAY, BUT IT IS HARD TO EXPLAIN EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS. I ATTEND CEREMONIES TO WORK WITH PLANTS- IT IS LIKE CONNECTING TO THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE PLANT SPIRIT TO SHOW YOU THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF AND THE WORLD, TO SEE A NEW PERSPECTIVE. IN SOME RELIGIONS, SPIRITS ARE OTHERWORLDLY SPIRITS, IN SHAMANISM THEY ARE EVERYWHERE- PLANTS, ANIMALS, ROCKS. THAT’S WHY WE FOLLOW A PATH WITH A DEEP REVERENCE TO ALL LIFE.
HOW DO YOU MAKE THESE SPIRITUAL CONNECTIONS? THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO DO SO, IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR INTENTION. CEREMONIES ARE HELD BY SHAMANS WHO HAVE WORKED WITH A PLANT FOR YEARS AND HAVE A CONNECTION TO IT. THEY CAN THEN CREATE A SAFE SPACE FOR OTHERS TO COME FOR HEALING, EXPLORATION AND TRANSFORMATION. DIFFERENT PLANTS HAVE UNIQUE INTAKES, YOU CAN DRINK, SNIFF OR SMOKE THEM. MASTER PLANTS I WOULD ALWAYS RECOMMEND TO EXPLORE IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT WITH A TRUSTED, EXPERIENCED SHAMAN. IT COULD BE LIFE CHANGING, BUT ALSO VERY DANGEROUS.
“I WASN’T AFRAID OF THE DARKNESS, I FELT A PART OF IT.”
- SAMMM AGNEW, PSYCHOTHERAPIST
“ WE COME FROM THE EARTH THEN GO BACK INTO THE EARTH”
“ WE ARE FED BY THE EARTH, THEN FEED THE EARTH.” - MABON WILLIAMS, ANIMIST
WHAT DOES THE OTHER SIDE LOOK LIKE?
INEVITABLY, DEPICTIONS OF AN AFTERLIFE OR OTHER SIDE SURROUND US IN EVERYDAY LIFE, AND OFTEN WE DON’T EVEN COMPREHEND THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, PIECES OF CINEMA SUCH AS HENRY SELICK’S 2009 ANIMATION ‘CORALINE’ PORTRAYS ‘THE OTHER WORLD’, AN ALTERNATE REALITY IN WHICH INDIVIDUALS ARE TIED TO BY SWITCHING OUT THEIR EYES FOR BUTTONS. ONLY ACCESSIBLE THROUGH A CERTAIN PORTAL, IT IS HARD TO NOT SEE CONNECTIONS TO REACHING SOME KIND OF AFTERLIFE OR FINAL DESTINATION HERE. ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS TIM BURTON’S 2010 MOVIE ‘ALICE IN WONDERLAND’, WITH NUMEROUS LINKS TO BIBLICAL STORIES. FOR EXAMPLE, ALICE, AGAINST HER WILL, ENTERS ANOTHER UNIVERSE AND MEETS THE QUEEN OF HEARTS WITH HER EVIL NATURE PERHAPS REPRESENTING THE DEVIL, AND VICE VERSA FOR THE WHITE QUEEN. THE MAD HATTER EXISTS AS SOME KIND OF GUARDIAN ANGEL FOR ALICE, ASSISTING HER ON ‘FRABJOUS DAY’, TO FIGHT THE JABBERWOCKY STRANGELY RELATABLE TO JUDGEMENT DAY IN THE BIBLE. ULTIMATELY, THE MEDIA AROUND US EVERYDAY AFFECTS OUR OWN INTERPRETATION OF WHAT MAY HAPPEN AFTER DEATH, AND WHAT THIS MAY LOOK LIKE.
MANY PEOPLE ARGUE THAT OUR WILD IMAGINATIONS, IMPACTED BY THE MEDIA’S GLORIOUS INTERPRETATIONS OF THE AFTERLIFE LEAD TO NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES WE OFTEN HEAR ABOUT, OF PEOPLE REACHING THE GATES OF HEAVEN BEFORE BEING SENT BACK DOWN. HOWEVER, SCIENCE ARGUES OTHERWISE. WHEN THE HEART FLATLINES, THE BRAIN FOLLOWS NO MORE THAN TWENTY SECONDS AFTER, MEANING THAT AFTER SOMEONE IS PRONOUNCED DEAD, BRAIN ACTIVITY IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE. DESPITE THIS, PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN RESUSCITATED RETURN WITH EXPERIENCES IN AN AFTERLIFE, WHICH CAN VARY QUITE DRASTICALLY, HOWEVER SCIENTISTS HAVE MADE PARALLELS BETWEEN MANY OF THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, INDIVIDUALS RETURN PROFOUNDLY CHANGED IN SOME WAY FROM THEIR EXPERIENCES, WHICH CAN CAUSE RIFTS IN RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS DUE TO THEIR ALTERED OUTLOOK. THEY ALSO TEND TO RECALL HAVING THEIR SENSES HEIGHTENED DURING THEIR EXPERIENCES, AND BEING TOLD THEY HAVE PURPOSES TO FULFIL ON EARTH BEFORE THEY RETURN BACK TO THE OTHER SIDE LATER IN LIFE.
WHEN CONSIDERING SPIRITS CROSSING TO THE OTHER SIDE, WE OFTEN FORGET THE POSSIBILITY THAT A SPIRIT CAN STRUGGLE TO REACH THE OTHER SIDE, LEFT STUCK ON THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE. THIS SCENARIO IS EVIDENT IN MANY MEDIA EXAMPLES WE KNOW WELL, FOR EXAMPLE BEETLEJUICE, HOWEVER THERE ARE A RANGE OF FACTORS THAT CAN HOLD SPIRITS BACK FROM ASCENDING TO THE OTHER SIDE. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN A SPIRIT DIES WITH NEGATIVE EMOTIONS, WHEN A SPIRIT DOESN’T REALISE THEY’RE DEAD, IF THERE IS CONFUSION AT THE TIME OF DEATH FOR EXAMPLE WITH DEMENTIA OR PAIN MEDICATION, FEARING PUNISHMENT IN THE AFTERLIFE, CURSES, UNFINISHED BUSINESS OR ATTACHMENTS TO ITEMS ON EARTH CAN ALL HOLD A SPIRIT BACK FROM CROSSING TO THE OTHER SIDE. WHEN EARTHBOUND, IT IS COMMON FOR A SPIRIT TO CLING TO A LIVING BEING CLOSE TO THEM, SUCH AS A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER OUT OF FEAR, WHICH DEPLETES BOTH OF THEIR ENERGIES, AND CAN RESULT IN PARANORMAL EXPERIENCES. IN INSTANCES LIKE THESE, THE LIVING CAN HELP SPIRITS CROSS OVER, BY REASSURING SPIRITS THROUGH DISCUSSION, TELLING THEM THEY CAN CROSS OVER TO THE SPIRIT REALM, AND BE AT PEACE.
“INTO THE DARKNESS WITHIN...
“OR ELSE, THE LIGHT” - MARGARET ATWOOD, THE HANDMAIDS TALE
‘HOW IS IT GOING TO END’ ISSUE ONE AVA FRANCES J INSTAGRAM: @AVAFRANCESJEAN, @AVAFRANCESJ EMAIL: AVAFRANCESJ@GMAIL.COM