Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Book!
Today we are welcoming Cara Marsi to the blog! She is the author of Cursed Mates as you can see from the cover above. Today she’s going to share with us her thoughts on Paranormal Activity. Without further ado, here’s Cara:
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
A while back a movie called Paranormal Activity was a big hit. It spawned two sequels. Cameras were set up to capture real paranormal activity that occurred while the homeowners slept. I’m not sure I believe everything in the movie was real.
But I do believe in the supernatural, and I’m not the only one. Look at all the vampire, werewolf, demon, witch, ghost, etc, books and movies that are so prevalent now. Those who study popular culture say our fascination with the supernatural is a wish to escape from the trials of our world and a desire to have superpowers to give us control over events. If I were to have a supernatural power, I’d be like Samantha in the old Bewitched TV show. I’ve always wanted to be able to twitch my nose and have a clean house. That’s all the superpower I’d need.
Many of us have had brushes with the supernatural. I wish I could say I’ve had a lot of experience with psychic phenomena, but I haven’t. I’ll tell you about some of my mystical experiences, one in particular involving what might have been a celestial being.
I don’t know if you’d call this next thing mystical, but it is psychic. I’m not one of those lucky people who win lots of contests or win the lottery. In fact, I’m singularly unlucky in that respect. However, the few times I’ve won something, I’ve known I would win. I get “the feeling,” almost a lightheadedness. And “the feeling” is never wrong. Once at a writers’ conference, I was in a workshop where they were giving away door prizes. Before my name was called, I’d put down the papers on my lap and started to stand. I’d gotten “the feeling” and knew I would win. If I were to ever win big in the lottery, I’d get “the feeling” when I bought the ticket. So far that hasn’t happened.
Several years ago I had an encounter with what I believe was an angel. That day, driving back to work on my lunch hour I was stopped at an intersection. My light turned green and I started across the road. Suddenly I felt a tingling on the back of my neck, like someone breathing on my skin. Something told me to stop. I put on my brakes just as two young women sped past in another car, running the opposite red light. They never even slowed down. I may have died that day but for my “angel” whispering for me to stop.
Do you believe in reincarnation? Things have happened in my life to make me believe reincarnation is real. When I was a small child, my grandmother had paintings of scenes from Ancient Rome hanging in her house. I’d stare at those paintings and know what it was like to live there. I used to have dreams where I was dressed in flowing Roman clothes and standing in a garden decorated with Roman statuary. To this day whenever I see a wooden door in a stone wall leading to a garden, I get chills. I truly believe that in a past life I lived in Ancient Rome and had a garden with a wooden door.
When my son was three or four, he used to tell my husband and me that when he lived with his “other daddy” he had a black dog that lay at the bottom of the stairs. My son has had only one daddy, and we’re a cat family. We’ve never had a dog. I got chills every time my son told us that story. As he got older, any memories he had of his “other daddy” and the black dog left him. Children remember their past lives because they’re still close to those lives. I believe my son and I both had past life memories when we were children.
A friend once told me that when her little brother was three years old, he’d tell the family stories of living in Paris, France, in the 1700’s. He’d describe the sounds of the carriage wheels and the smells of the city. How would he have known that, especially the smells? He couldn’t even read.
I believe old houses retain an aura from the spirits of all the people who’d lived in them. Some auras are good, some not so much. A friend and I once spent a day touring beautiful old houses on one of those charity events where people open their homes to the public. My friend and I may have been extra sensitive to psychic feelings that day, but each time we went into a house, we felt its “spirit.” Some spirits were loving, but others were tinged with evil as if something bad had happened there. I still get shivers thinking about it.
Places are haunted too with the actual ghosts, rather than the auras, of ones who’d lived there. Another friend told the story of the time she had dinner at an old inn in Pennsylvania. When my friend went up the stairs to the ladies room, she saw a shimmering figure on the landing. She described it as the bottom half of a man clad in Civil War garb. Sure enough, the inn was said to be haunted by a Civil War soldier and also by a little girl who cried a lot. Other restaurant patrons reported hearing a little girl cry.
I’ve visited Gettysburg battlefield several times. Each time I’ve felt the spirits of the men who died there. It’s common knowledge that Gettysburg is haunted. I’ve visited Antietam battlefield in Maryland also. That place is haunted too, maybe more so than Gettysburg. The spirits in Antietam are very strong.
My psychic experiences are small, but I’ve had enough to convince me we are surrounded by otherworldly beings, and that each of us holds the key to opening ourselves up to these spirits. We also possess knowledge of our past lives, but that knowledge is hidden. What do you think? Have you had any paranormal activity in your lives?
I’d like to thank Cara for visiting today. She can be found at her website, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Cara is also coming back to my blog later in the month to talk about her other books. So stay tuned, and come back over to learn more on May 23rd and 26th.
Barb, thanks for having me today. I love talking about psychic phenomena. I hope your followers enjoy this subject also.
Hi Cara!
Thanks for visiting! I look forward to your next visit!!
I must say that I haven’t experienced any psychic phenomena, but I love to hear what other people have experienced. Their stories always give me chills…
Cara, I loved this subject today. I’ve visited Gettysburg and I agree you can feel the soldiers there. I also grew up in a house where a spirit of a little girl stil resides. My father lives there and anyone who stays there for any length of time gets to know her well. She’s a prankster!
Cara,
What a great story. I believe there are so many things about this world that we really don’t understand, and may never fully understand. If someone sees ghosts, auras, or feels they are reincarnated I don’t question them. Sometimes we just don’t have the answers.
Very cool topic, Cara.
I had an angel experience after Handsome was diagnosed with cancer. I was walking through the kitchen to the back door, wondering, thinking about coping when *something* enveloped me and said, “It will be all right.” And then I knew he would be.
Thank you.
Lynn, thanks for posting. We all have some psychic ability, but we have to learn to tap into that.
Amber, thanks for posting. The spirits in Gettysburg are strong. Very cool story about the little girl who haunts your house.
Elizabeth, thanks for posting. You’re right. We just sometimes don’t have the answers. But it sure makes for some lively discussion.
Vicki, thanks for posting. What a moving angel experience you had.
Great topic! My husband and I once stayed at a hotel near Lancaster that was made up of old train cars. Each room was a car. In the middle of the night we both woke up. Neither of us said anything, we just listened to each other breathe for a minute. It was like we both knew we were being watched from the back of the room and were scared to admit it. It felt malevolent. We didn’t even discuss it. He just turned to me and whispered “Do you want to leave?” That’s all that was said. We got up and ran out of the room in the middle of the night.
Hello! I am about to be published with noble romance and my novel is actually about reincarnation, so this blog caught my eye! I have always been fascinated with this sort of thing and just had to write a book about it 🙂 An interested point of research:
http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/clinical/departments/psychiatry/sections/cspp/dops/home-page
I reference this department in my novel. It’s a department at the University of Virginia and its WHOLE focus is applying the scientific method to research all things paranormal 🙂 Pretty interesting…
If you would like to read the first chapter of my book, go to chelsieshakespeare.com
Great topic! As a Certified Angel Intuitive, I feel connected to the spirit world all the time, but long before I developed this interest, my daughter used to say something very interesting. She was perhaps 2 and she would ask me, Mommy, remember when you were a baby and I took care of you? Woo! Gives me chills just thinking about it. But I guess we were together in a previous life when our roles were reversed. And like you said, young children remember their old lives and also when they were in spirit when they are young, but then they forget.
Oh, Cara, the cover of your book Cursed Mates is intriguing! I’m wondering about the dog in front of the hunky dude. What can that mean? I’ve never experienced any “feelings” like you described or had any experiences where a spirit appeared or I felt it or anything. The closest thing to “unusual” for me is that (now don’t laugh) we used to have a Rhodesian Ridgeback male dog who was very protective and whenever I would cry or get upset he would have to run over and lick my face and he got weirded out. He was the only male dog we had until our Annabella gave birth to Jack. I swear he has our Rhodesian’s spirit in him because not only does he do the exact same thing about the crying business but he can’t stand any type of fighting, slapping, yelling, etc or he barks and gets very agitated and HAS to come and see what’s wrong and take care of you. Not much, but it’s just what I feel is happening in our family.
Can’t say I buy into the vampire, werewolf stuff but I do believe in the paranormal – spirits, past lives, positive and negative energies, etc. Here’s a weird thing that happened to me.
My sister, who is 15 years older, and I have never really been close, partly because of the age gap and partly because of family issues. But a few years back she was attacked by a druggie nutcase, so I decided to drive down to see her. We had a nice visit and connected in a way we hadn’t before. After I got home a couple of days later, I was unpacking my cosmetics in the bathroom when I felt a something stroke the top of my head. I about jumped out of my skin. I was totally alone in the house. After my heart resumed a somewhat normal rhythm, the only thing I could come up with to explain it was our deceased mother patting my head. (She was uncomfortable with physical affection and a brief touch was about all she ever managed.) Sure had me spooked for a couple of days.
I’ve had dreams that came true and sometimes I “know” something is going to happen and it does. I, also, believe in past lives.
marlenebreakfield(at)yahoo(dot)com
How long have we known each other and I never knew this about you? We have so many experiences in common. I had a voice tell me to slow down to avoid a collision, and a car ended up coming around a curve in my lane. I’ve also had experiences regarding reincarnation.
Very interesting post, Cara!
I’ve had numerous brushes with paranormal. Like you, I “intuit” events.
When I was a child, before the days of cells phones or GPS, my mother “knew” something bad had happened to my father when he was late coming home from work one evening.
Without any idea where she would go and where he might be, she grabbed her purse and car keys to search for him. She drove for miles and ended up on an unfamiliar road where she happened upon an accident scene surrounded by police cars and an ambulance. My father was being taken away to the hospital just as she arrived.
Happily, my father survived the car crash and had no lasting injuries.
My parents’ psychic connection that night was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever witnessed.
Best–Adele
I love reading everyone’s psychic experiences. A psychic once told me that my son was my brother in a previous life and he was with me in this life so I could teach him a lesson. Whatever the lesson, he hasn’t learned it yet. My son talked about his “other daddy,” but never his “other mommy,” which lends credance that we were together in a previous life.
Heather, your story gave me the chills.
Chelsie, I love reincarnation stories. I’ll check yours out.
Candace, cool that you’re a Certified Angel Intuitive. I got chills when I read what your daughter used to say to you.
Patti, I once had a beloved cat that I swore was the reincarnation of a deceased beloved cat. I understand how you feel about your dog. Actually, that’s a wolf on the cover of Cursed Mates. I love wolves, the real ones.
Kathy, I’m with you on the vamp, werewolf stuff, but there is definitely the supernatural all around us. Your story reminds of the same friend whose brother had memories of Paris. Sometimes she’d be in her bedroom and her hairbrush would fly through the air and hit her. She always thought it was her deceased aunt who didn’t like her.
Marlene,my dreams don’t come true and I’m glad. My mother used to have prophetic dreams. She knew when my cousind died in Vietnam in 1968. That’s why I’m glad I don’t have prophetic dreams. It must be scary for you at times.
Aileen, I guess we never talked about any of this. Strange you and I were both saved from car accidents by angels.
Cara, I didn’t know it was a wolf and I absolutely am fascinated by wolves – love watching NatGeo programs about them and bought a beautiful tabletop book about them. They’re beautiful.
Patricia, if you are drawn to and fascinated by wolves, there might be a reason. They could be your totem or have messages for you. Anyone interested in that sort of thing should check out the book Animal Speak by Ted Andrews.
What an interesting topic. I believe in almost all aspects of paranormal whether it be ghosts, vampires, werewolves, faeries etc. Just because we don’t see it doesn’t mean its not there. I wouldn’t be surprised to find there were several dimensions with all kinds of creatures all over that we are just not aware of.
I haven’t had too many experiences with ghosts but when I was about 14 I went to visit my mom in Massachusetts and I had never visited the house they moved into and that house just had a weird vibe… I was totally creeped out by the house and I kept “feeling” things around me. I don’t think they were super aggressive but they didn’t feel super friendly either.
For angels my Uncle was in the hospital less than 6 months ago and they had him on morphine which is not a hallucinogen, more of a pain reliever (I always get knocked straight out) well my Uncle didn’t get knocked straight out and he could hear the doctors/nurses talking about him and how they didn’t think he was going to make it and my Uncle said he saw what looked like angels that came out of the wall and he was comforted by their presence and one of the angels had long brown hair and a brown beard and had a resemblance to Jesus. He woke up later and they were surprised that he was doing so well because his surgery had complications and I think dirt or something fell in him when they were operating (hence the complications). I was just like “Wow, Uncle Jim, you got to see Jesus, that’s so awesome.” I haven’t always been a believer in Christ and just in the last few years I’ve REALLY believed and believed in God and Christ and all of a sudden he has that situation which just makes me believe that I’m on the right path in my beliefs.
On another wacky note my mom thinks she’s an alien from another planet and she says she remembers things from being there and she’s not worried about being with God when she dies because she says she’ll be going to her home when she dies. Btw, I don’t think she’s a total nut job, she’s extremely smart, a nurse and an acupuncturist and she’s a very logical person so that’s why I don’t go OMG you’re crazy because I have no reason to if that makes sense 🙂
Nice blog, Cara. As the mother of a psychic daughter, I’m definitely a believer.
I have experienced many paranormal events in my 66 yrs on this earth.I am Choctaw,Irish,English and a bit of Welsh thrown in. I guess I am hot wired to believe in all manner of faeries,little people, Spirits,ghosts,omens and precognitive messages.I have cleared homes for friends and family.Cleared land of harmful entities for a group of Native American friends and tangled with other world evil spirits bent on harm (an experience I never want to repeat.I have fire walked and yes it was real hot coals we walked over. Coals hot enough to incinerate hardwood very quickly. No burns on the bottom of my feet and I didn’t run across.My best friend is a true psychic and empath.I am an empath and healer,though I try not to be most of the time it works but you can’t turn it off and on.
Nice blog. I had one experience when I visited a very old hotel in France. In the middle of the night I woke up to the sound of many men passing underneath my window. They were singing all together, some song I didn’t recognize in what sounded like French. It was very loud, but I noticed my husband was still sound asleep. I got up and went to the window to see what in the world was going on, and the minute I pulled the curtain back to look out, the sounds all stopped. And there was no one on the deserted street. Very spooky.
Adele, thanks for posting. Wow, what a story about your parents’ psychic connection.
Candace and Patti, I’ve always loved wolves even though I’m a cat person. I once read that if I closed my eyes and concentrated very hard and emptied my mind of all thought, I’d get a vision of my animal spirit guide. I did that, and soon I saw a wolf running toward me. I got so scared I opened my eyes. I wasn’t scared of the wolf because he didn’t look menacing. I was afraid I’d open my mind to evil spirits. I give money on a regular basis to organizations that are trying to protect wolves.
Chelsea, I love the angel story about your uncle. I’ve heard other stories of people who see angels at their bedside when they’re dying. My Aunt Rose saw her deceased mother and angels as she was dying. I certainly believe in angels. I think you did pick up evil vibes in that house in Massachusetts. It is kind of funny about your mother thinking she’s an alien. Who’s to say she’s wrong?
Sue, I forgot your daughter’s psychic. I know you’ve got some good stories about her. I’ve heard some of them.
Wow, Pam, you’ve got some great paranormal experiences, and a great background. You’ve really got some true psychic ability. I got chills reading your story.
Barbara, I got chills reading your post too. I still get chills thinking of those ghost soldiers you heard.
Thanks, everyone, for posting. This has been fun.
Great post, Carolyn!! Wow!
I lead a very dull life…no paranormal activity here! Oh, except a traffic angel story!
I’ve loved reading all the comments. Like Tessy, I’ve had a very dull life. I do believe, tho. What an enjoyable blog today.
Hi Robin!
Thanks for visiting! I agree! Some very interesting comments on the blog today!
Thanks, Tess and Robin. And Barb, thanks for hosting me. I loved reading about everyone’s experiences. It’s been fun.
I must repel the paranormal. My husband and I once went to a restaurant in New Mexico famed for a ghost in the women’s restroom who pinched women on their butts.
No matter how many times I went in there, I felt nary a pinch. No tingle. Nothing. Nada.
It’s pretty sad when your butt’s not even worthy of a pinch by some dead guy.
Ann, you always make me laugh. Thanks for posting.
I’ve experienced psychic phenomena and I love to hear what other people have experienced.
Great blog, thanks for sharing!