Dear Julia,

My teenage daughter and I love shows like Ghost Hunters and Paranormal State. I know this sounds silly, but it seems like we start to experience strange things while we're watching these shows, similar to what the researchers are experiencing on the show. We see shadowy movements out of the corners of our eyes, hear knocks and thumps, and sometimes the hair stands up on the backs of our necks and we feel creeped out. At first I figured this was our imaginations, but then we started noting that we were both experiencing the same things at the same times! This only seems to happen when we're watching these shows; otherwise, all is (relatively!) normal in our household. What do you think is happening?

-Sandy

Dear Sandy,

Yes! Watching paranormal TV shows, horror movies and the like can indeed spark strange phenomena. This is also true of reading scary books, dabbling in the occult by experimenting with Ouija boards and similar endeavors.

Your experiences beautifully illustrate how what we focus our attention upon expands in our lives. When we focus on something with strong emotion (whether that emotion is desire, fear or something else), it's like we fertilize the thoughts we're thinking, which causes whatever we're focused on to grow faster and stronger in our experience.

As a result of this dynamic, people who are fascinated by the paranormal tend to have more paranormal experiences; people who deeply long for spirit communication tend to (eventually) succeed; and people who are constantly worried about getting sick or in a car accident tend to do so more than the rest of us.

We are therefore wise to be vigilantly aware of our pattern of thought and on top of our vibration. By vibration, I mean the quality of the energy we are tuned into and radiating out into the Universe. When we are feeling depressed, anxious, jealous or angry, we're aligned with a low vibration. When we're feeling upbeat, positive, happy and loving, we're radiating a high vibration.

Our vibration is important because like attracts like in the Universe, so one of our major goals on a conscious spiritual journey is to learn to think for ourselves and to consciously set our own tone or vibration in life. Until we do this, our vibration tends to entrain to that of outside influences. Unconsciously, we synch with the vibrations of the people and situations around us, as well as all the input we take in, such as the things we watch on TV or read in the newspaper.

This tendency to be affected by outside influences is especially pronounced in people who are highly sensitive. These folks are easily moved by movies, stories they read or hear from others, etc. This is by no means a bad thing, for it's what makes them extraordinarily compassionate and aware. Highly sensitive people simply need to be extra careful in order to cultivate a sense of well-being.

Sensitive, spiritual folks must become very adept at setting their own tone to safely move into lower vibration situations without risking that this lower input will bring them down. It is therefore only people who have strong faith and tremendous personal power who can safely watch creepy shows without being adversely affected.

People who are relatively insensitive who have yet to attain a higher vibration in general will still attract negative energies if they move into a fearful vibration. The difference is that these folks tend to be hard to move, and even when they are moved, they tend to be oblivious to the negative energies around them, much as a fish is oblivious to the fact that it is surrounded by its normal environment of water.

Whenever you watch something like this on TV and you start to feel scared or creeped out, your fearful energy becomes like a beacon, drawing lower astral entities near. You are aware of this because it's not normal for you. As your normal vibration is higher than this, it's only when you watch these shows and your vibration dips that you notice this sort of phenomenon.

I am very careful when I watch things like this on TV. I do watch some of these shows sometimes because I get questions like yours frequently, and I consider it part of my job to know what people are watching. However, I remain vigilantly aware of my vibration and psychically tuned in to the vibration of any family members watching with me as well the energies in my environment.

I encourage you to trust your instincts instead of labeling them as nothing more than your imagination. Feeling creeped out is one of our most primal instincts: It's the same sense that tells us whether or not we can trust someone upon meeting them. Our instincts are naturally protective in nature, and to talk ourselves out of them is foolish. There is a reason why we feel uneasy around certain people, in certain places, or in certain situations - it's because our instincts are telling us that we would be wise to get away from there.

Further, it's normal to sense non-physical energies in our auras, and to be unable to find evidence to back up our perceptions when we check with our physical senses. This is because these energies aren't physical - they're metaphysical in nature. When negative energies/entities are in our psychic space, we may feel tingles, goose bumps, or the hair standing up on the back of our necks. We may see things in our peripheral vision such as movement or shadows, only to see nothing when we look in that direction. We may think we hear things such as random noises, whispers or voices, which may or may not be heard by other people, and may or may not be picked up by physical recording equipment.

While many people label these experiences as nothing more than their imaginations, in my view, they are always subtle impressions from some dimension. It's also normal to sense subtle energies when we're in an altered state of consciousness, such as when we're falling asleep, waking up or deeply engrossed in watching something like a film. This is because our conscious minds aren't rigidly filtering our awareness at these times.

I don't recommend that you watch anything that really freaks you out. There is nothing to fear on a physical level, and even on a spiritual level, nothing can truly harm you, but if you want a smooth, happy journey, it's wise to develop faith, knowledge and personal power before exploring the paranormal.

If you do watch something like this or begin to feel creeped out at any time, recognize this as a sign that you need to raise your vibration. One of the best ways to immediately shift your energy is by reading a spiritual, uplifting book. The ultimate vibration is Love, so you might also think about someone whom you love with all your heart, and flow the energy of your love to them from your heart chakra. See this love energy filling up your aura, and visualize it like a beautiful light, shining forth from within you and illuminating the space all around you. This will naturally dispel any shadows in your environment.

Further, affirm that you are always safe and that all is well in your world. Remember that you are strong, wise, intuitive and capable of handling whatever comes your way. Send good will to everyone in your life and to whatever energies may have disturbed you, and then go about your business with trust that you've effectively shifted out of fear and into a vibration where only good things can enter your reality.