Reality TV

I am often asked - "Celaine, what paranormal TV shows do you recommend?" And I reply: "The Real Housewives of Orange County". But seriously....
I have to admit that my worst vice is my enjoyment of so-called reality TV series. Truly. My favorite paranormal show is, of course, "Ghosthunters" (SyFy channel). They collect good evidence and do a good job debunking (as in finding a rational explanation for) strange happenings that are not paranormal. Very entertaining, not scary and I've learned a lot from Jason and Grant. My next favorite, I suppose, is "Paranormal State" (A & E). Entertaining, some good evidence, but there's the occasional religious twist that some might find a bit off-putting. (as I do) Award for most hokey name goes to "Psychic Kids - Children of the Paranormal" (A & E). Actually a good show: Psychic mediums help kids understand their own psychic gifts. I like Chip Coffey (also on Paranormal State)- I would choose him if I ever needed a medium. "Destination Truth" (SyFy Channel) is highly entertaining - a crew of very adventurous folk investigate paranormal-type legends all over the world (love that Yeti!) The Silly Award goes to "Ghost Adventures" (Travel Channel). The EVPs are indecipherable but the antics of the cast members make for good watching as they explore ghostly "phenomenas". Those are my recommendations. Note: Addicted as I am to "reality TV" I do not watch "Medium" or "Ghost Whisperer", so I have no opinion about those 2 shows. As Jason and Grant say: "On to the next!"

Why the Obsidian Madonna?

I practice shamanism, the spiritual practice of receiving direct revelation from helping spirits. The title "Obsidian Madonna" is in reference to one of my spirit helpers in non-ordinary reality. She calls herself the Black Madonna. I'm not sure she bears much resemblance to the "famous" Black Madonna, who is a manifestation of the Virgin Mary. My Madonna is more like a "tough love" kind of psychotherapist who hangs out in an "office" of pure black obsidian rock, usually in the Upper World, though she's been known to move about in non-ordinary reality. She once gave me some amazing information during a shamanic journey about some very nasty circumstances that would eventually happen in my former job. The Black Madonna heads up a cast of really interesting characters in non-ordinary reality, some of whom may also appear from time to time in this blog.

The Haunted Calculator

I'd been living in my old Victorian for a couple of years. It was pretty quiet for an old house, if you don't count the bats and squirrels in the attic and the occasional raccoon on the roof. I had this really old solar calculator - the pocket kind that costs less than $5 - and I kept it open on the kitchen table. I would use it to balance my checkbook. I started noticing that numeric entries would suddenly appear on that calculator out of nowhere. It happened several times a week. So every now and again, I would type in some random number as if to communicate with - whatever. One time, my son Yvan was visiting and I told him about the calculator and he typed in the numbers that say "HELLO" when you turn it upside down, a trick every grade school kid knows how to do. That was that until he went home to NYC and called me on the phone. While we were talking, a calculator "message" came up. It said "HEELO". OK, so the entity isn't a great speller. I'm sure you are trying to debunk this right now. And why the heck would a spirit try to communicate through a calculator? Well, there were some other ghostly happenings going on around this time, which I will write about in a future post. But this was the most interesting to me. So here's the kicker - when I moved back to Colorado, I took that calculator with me. It sits on my desk at work. And NOT ONCE has a message appeared since the move. So it wasn't the calculator that was haunted, but the location. Or so I believe.

My Haunted House

In my previous post,I was saying I wanted another opportunity to experience paranormal activity. Of course I got another chance. Maybe not as dramatic as spirit hands on your shoulders , but still....I had recently moved to Oberlin, Ohio and had bought a Victorian cottage built in 1873. It was in need of some repairs, but fixing up an old Victorian had long been a dream of mine. Despite bats in the attic and a leaning front porch, I was in love. And anyway, the plumbing was new. So I was sitting on the toilet and I heard a rush of water from the sink. The faucet had turned on all by itself. Not just a trickle, but a nice steady pressure. Interesting, I thought, and gave it no further attention until I saw an episode of Ghosthunters where the same thing happened to the same kind of faucet. And since those Ghosthunters are plumbers, I absolutely believed them when they said that kind of faucet can't turn on by itself. That's not all that happened in that house, but it's all for now. Next time, we learn about the "haunted calculator".

ThingsThat Go Bump in the Night at Camp

When I was eleven or twelve years old, I had a strange summer at Girl Scout Camp. I was sharing a cabin with 3 other girls, and one night, we were sitting on one of the beds and chatting. Suddenly, I felt two solid hands on my shoulders. For some reason, I thought a girl from another cabin had sneaked in and was playing a joke. I looked behind me and no one was there. And I screamed. Really loud. Loud enough to wake up the whole camp. My cabin-mates started screaming too. The counselors came running up the hill to our cabin to see what was going on - they thought maybe a rattlesnake had gotten into the cabin. When I told what happened, they chewed me out for scaring the rest of the girls. Said it was just my imagination. It wasn't. Even then, I knew I had been touched by a spirit. But I guess I scared that poor spirit away. Today, there are TV shows about people who help kids who've had contact with spirits or psychic experiences. As an adult, I'd like another chance. These are the kinds of things I think about.