Friday, April 20, 2018

Noise and Ghosts Part 1: What is White Noise and Does It Help in Spirit Communication?

Perhaps you've seen the films, or read some creepypastas about it, or even heard friends talk about it: white noise and spirit communication. What is it? Does it work? Is it a dangerous method of communication? I won't just focus on white noise - I'll also branch into different "colour" noises and what you might remember as TV static, etc. I would also like to share my experiences with it, and in this little series share a bit of an ongoing experiment.

What's White Noise?

    For anyone who's had trouble sleeping or trouble with sounds waking you or a loved one up,  you may have already used it. White noise is a basic sound-canceling technology that basically masks other sounds using a blanket of noise. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as: "noise containing many frequencies with equal intensities." The sound itself is very much like a raging river or big waterfall.


Insomnia and White Noise

    Everyday sounds have many different profiles, like how cities have different silhouettes of tall buildings (loud or piercing sounds) and short buildings (medium sounds) and flat roads (silence) - whereas white noise would have just a bunch of very nearly equal buildings with no roads. Sounds weird, but gimme a minute to try and explain better...
    Everyday sounds will catch your attention - picture a flat road going on for an hour and then a very tall building - in this case let's say a window breaking - sticking out like a sore thumb. While sleeping, your brain likes a flat, boring road as opposed to many buildings spaced with many roads .: someone talking to you while you're trying to sleep. Your ears still hear and your brain still analyzes sound while you're asleep, and so the 'big buildings' make your brain work harder and therefore your nice sleep cycle is more of a jerky mess. As soon as your brain realizes the sound you just heard is a window breaking or your kids getting home waaaaay too late - it'll wake up and get ready to react. White noise fills in the gap between buildings and roads and your brain does less analysis. Your brain basically hears nothing, so deeper sleep. I highly recommend it for sleeping if you're not focusing on communicating with anything or anyone. And don't use it if your kids are young enough that they might need you to hear the breaking window. We could get more technical on the matter.. but for the purpose of this series, I think this is enough for now.

Is White Noise a Communication Aid? 

    Now we get into why I am writing about it. I have found it works very well and have thought long and hard as to why it works.
    First, I want to share an experience I have had. When I was healthier, and able to do home visits and personal readings, I had an extremely hard time doing a remote reading (a reading where I am one place and the person asking for the reading is far away or the subject of the question is far away) to the point where I almost gave up. I had heard of white noise being used as a tool to communicate with spirits more clearly and I hated to disappoint someone with a good purpose for reaching out: a dead husband, taken far too early. I was getting nothing from him in the normal method and so I figured it was time to try something new. I turned on a white noise generator (a little box that randomly generates white noise) and kept reaching out to the deceased spouse. Nothing at first, just that waterfall sound of the noise and me audibly and mentally calling the name of the man. Then, after a good three to five minutes, I started to hear a faint sound. Like a break in the white noise here and there. CHHHHHHHH-CHHHHHH-CHH-CHHHHHHHH---CHHHH. My mind focused on those breaks and I started to hear broken words in the gaps. CHHH-Are-CHHHHHH-any-CHHHHHHH-there-CHHHHHHH-Please-CHHHHHH-(name) CHHH. I was taken aback on how clear it was. When I communicate with spirits (using whatever ability I have that uses whatever part of my brain it does) it's not usually so clear. It's like someone's thoughts are echoed and you catch the echoes at some point and sometimes those are just fragments. This sounded like someone on a CB radio asking if anyone can hear his transmission. My surprise kicked me back and I returned to just hearing the CHHHHHHHH sound for a good minute. Calm down, listen, but don't focus too hard. It's a big problem in spirit communication: don't get excited and don't over focus. Then, the broken words returned. The man was at his fishing cottage. It was summer for him but winter for us. Fish were biting, not too many mosquitoes, nice weather.. it was like many of the descriptions of the afterlife I had heard - realistic touches like the mosquitoes but mainly beautiful and warm and ... well... heavenly. (Live your life before you go there. Yes it's beautiful but there is a purpose to this life, whether you believe it is by design or not - there is still a purpose that life fulfills just like a school and womb combined. Two links are to suicide related posts.) But he wasn't aware that he was dead from what I could gather at first. I asked if he could hear me. Yes, where are you? I can't see you? (I am paraphrasing, it was a long time ago) I answered that I was asked to talk to him and slowly broke the news that he had passed on. He replied he figured, as he didn't see his wife and kids anywhere, but his uncle (who was very much dead from the Korean War) visited often. But the man was scared to acknowledge the fact that he had, indeed, passed on, and he much preferred to think of himself as on vacation. I remember smiling at his cool turns of phrases and philosophy. Now the words were still broken here and there, but it was more like: Tell my w-CHHHHH-fe-CHH-I miss her-CHHH-and I'm ok - CHHHH - little wolf is here - CHHHH - thank you. I was in the zone and calm, the perfect setting to communicate. It's not always easy to get into that zone, but meditation helps. Now, for some people, I can't vouch for them only myself, it takes more or less time to get into the zone with white noise. For me, it can take up to a half hour of sitting and waiting, or just a few minutes. But sometimes, it can just fail entirely and I end up wasting an afternoon repeating a name like a fool! Will it work for you? I can't guarantee that, no one can. But I can tell you with certainty - it works for me.

How Does It Help in Communication?

    Sleep and spirit communication have many things in common. You have to be relaxed, mentally calm, and patient to both fall asleep and to fall into communication. Loud sounds can easily wake you up and can easily pull you out of a communication just as panic, pain and physical discomfort. It is a delicate balance and I think white noise is easily explained - it calms that part of your brain that is always searching for and analyzing sounds. You can focus on whatever part of your brain communicates with spirits. The same goes for why it can be much easier to turn off lights and just have a candle - less data from your surroundings gets analyzed by your brain and therefore more processing power is available. It's not that ghosts like night better.. for them it might not even BE night.. it's that you can focus calmly. This is my explanation.

Is it Dangerous?

    As a sleep aid, not usually. Unless you are in a dangerous place and need to be aware of the dangers therein, have a brain injury and are told to stay awake, etc.
    As a communication tool - ANY communication with spirits can be dangerous. White Noise does not increase or decrease your risk of a bad person latching onto you. This is sad but like any relationships you form with the living - the dead can be jerks. Of course the living can't get to you as intimately as the dead - and they need skills to pick locks that the dead just don't. However, spirits tend to not want to hurt you like the living, for the most part. The dead have less motivation - like money and material goods - but when they are properly motivated they can be a nightmare. Just like the living.


Can Anyone Use It?

    I am a firm believer that anyone can communicate with spirits, but some people need a lot of practice and training. By training, I mean meditation mostly. Just like you train in anything, you need to find your "zone" - the state of mind and relaxation that allow you to perform at your best. However, training is hard as communication with the dead is either taboo, discarded as fantasy, or heresy in most of the world that no one with any credibility in today's popular media wants to touch it with a ten foot pole. I know there are a lot of people with credibility that are working on the subject, but it isn't something you'll see in mainstream media. You have to dig and research etc.
    BUT I would not suggest spirit communication for some people as it might worsen their mental condition. If you have a mental schism of any kind, this could worsen it by blurring the lines further between real and hallucination. Anxious folk might get more anxious if they hear something disturbing.. and many spirits are masters at disturbing. I could go on with a list but the important part is: if you are easily disturbed, if you hallucinate often by illness or drugs, if you have had some history of disassociation with reality, and anything in this general area - not a good idea. I won't tell you what to do or not to do, I can only tell you it's not a good idea in my opinion.
    Also - if you have a group doing a reading at the same time, you might not hear the same thing. That doesn't mean that someone is getting it "wrong" - as I believe the communication takes place directly from spirit to brain most times. One person might be hearing one spirit, the other  - another spirit. Just keep that in mind when people start fighting over who is "really talking to spirits" or not. The white noise just helps tune out the rest of the world and focus on one thing.


How to Communicate With Spirits using White Noise  

    I will list the method I use, through experimentation, that I find works best for me - feel free to experiment and mail me about your best method.
    You will need white noise.. you can find some on Youtube for free, free apps on both apple and android app stores, you can even find some on sound clouds or a generator embedded in websites, or you can buy one online or in store. The best thing is a generator, as some weirdos will have an hour of white noise (for example) and then a jump-scare or two.. not a good idea. The apps and physical generators you can get are great. Lots of free stuff or paid stuff out there. I have tried all these methods and my favourite are the free generator apps that let you choose between different "colours" of sound. I will talk about the different kinds later in the series.
***After looking around I found this one that works in browser (for PC, Mac, apple mobile iOS, and Android OS) or you can download their free apps for Apple iOS or Android OS. Haha research win 😁! Mynoise.net Noise Generator. And no, I am not a paid advertiser, I just talk like one 😏 and sorry.. I found an emoji function on Blogger? Yikes... please tell me if it bothers anyone - my email is the name of the blog at gmail . com. I am sorry that I don't have a link to my mail but I was getting hundreds of spam mails a day at the beginning and about 5 hate mails, this way it filters out only dedicated readers and dedicated hate mailers. Again, so sorry. If I wasn't sick I would totally go through those each day. I just got back into it after the password was logged and changed, so I will be answering mails this week onwards.***

 Before you start - you can choose to try and talk to a specific deceased person or just invite anyone to talk. Personally, I would suggest beginners focus on a specific loved one as inviting whomever random person in can be dangerous and takes a bit of training to shut out. Someone you trust, someone you love. You can also just ask a loved one to protect you, or even a group of loved ones.

1. Sit in a dark room - or just not too bright if dark freaks you out - in a comfortable position. Or lay down if that is easier for you, as long as you are comfy and your body's issues aren't distracting you (this also means make sure you aren't hungry or cold or hot or need to use the bathroom)

2. Turn on the white noise at a comfortable level. Test the level out while reading a book or taking a bath etc something relaxing as if it grinds your nerves during a relaxing activity - you need to turn it down or shift to the cool end of the spectrum (more on that later in the series)

3. Take some slow, deep breaths in through the nose and out the mouth. At your pace. Then, throughout the session, make sure you continue to breathe slowly and evenly.

4. Close your eyes and go through your body like a scan from head to toes and fingers - to relax each muscle. This is important to get you relaxed and focused. You can choose to continue having your eyes closed (good for when you can't get a dark room) or open throughout the session.

5. Alternating between saying and thinking the person's name you wish to contact (or just saying and thinking something like: I'd like to talk to a deceased person, please respond) - slowly and clearly - focus on the image of their face in your mind. If you are doing a random - just focus on asking them to come to you, no image. If you can remember their scent or voice, focus on that every few cycles of saying and thinking their name. This might take a little time.
    If this doesn't work, try writing their name on paper and having a photo of them or painting  - handwriting, items they cherished, or even hair/nails can help. I have NO idea why it helps, just that it does.
        If this doesn't work, try another day.
            If after a week of daily attempts you still haven't made contact: try contacting someone else for a while and coming back to this person later in the year. I know it's very frustrating, but it only hurts your efforts to be irritated and desperate to contact them. It can be hard on the spirit, too, as they can feel helpless.

6. When you start hearing breaks in the static (make sure your generator isn't losing power or app isn't being interrupted.. this can ruin a session) focus on the breaks but not too hard.
    If you find yourself too excited and the breaks stop, don't worry - just refocus and calm like in steps 3 and 4.

7. When you start hearing the voice, focus gently on it. Take slow, gentle breaths and relax your body - this may sound simple and is easily forgotten but this works in both lucid dreaming and spirit contact (slow gentle breathing in your lucid dream that is)
    If  you hear more than one voice, pick one to focus on. This will sound jumbled at first but with practice - you can tell them apart and blur the other voice out.
        If you can't focus on just one voice, alternate between clearly speaking and clearly thinking "one at a time" and/or "I can't understand you if more than one person is talking" etc.
            If you STILL can't get it down to one voice, stop the session and try again another day.

8. As you start to understand what the person is communicating, relax as much as you can and say/think questions or answers. It is important to say and think these as it helps to focus you and the spirit.
    If the questions and answers knock you out of the conversation, don't worry. It happens - especially at the beginning. Just refocus using steps 3 and 4, then continue through the steps until you get it right. Might take a few sessions, might take a few years or even decades. It's troubling when it takes a long time, but worth the effort.

9. When you are done the conversation, I find it helps to "close the door" to spirits. You say goodbye and thank you, and think goodbye and thank you. You can also picture a door closing and you locking it safely. Go through steps 3 and 4, then go back to your daily life. If the contact was with a malevolent person - picture the door being barred and locked many time, even sealing up the door. I find this helps - either it activates some sort of innate barrier we've forgotten or never discovered - or maybe helpful spirits see this and come to your aid - or maybe something else.. the brain, soul and body are amazing things.


Failure and the Art of Quitting

    There are many reasons why people can't communicate with spirits. Maybe you aren't relaxed enough, maybe you are scared out of your mind, maybe you have a grandma on the other side that blocks spirits from bothering you or a long lost great-great-uncle that makes sure you aren't attacked by a malevolent spirit just waiting to invade your private space. Maybe there are differences in brains or nerves or some weird chemical some people don't produce enough of? Maybe souls have organs and such just like the body. But after a long haul of trying, it  might be time to quit. I hate quitting but there are some times where a spirit just won't or can't communicate and I officially stop trying. This can be frustrating and depressing and even embarrassing - but it is better than hitting your head against the brick wall of failure over and over and over again. Nothing is to be gained after a while of trying, and some part of you will know when that time comes. Remember that life is a priority over communicating with the dead, as I remind myself on a daily basis, and that we have a duty to ourselves and our loved ones to know when to quit. It can be frustrating for the deceased who are trying to communicate with you at you request but cannot for some reason link up. Try another spirit if you can, or take some time off before you try again. When quitting time comes, you will either instinctively know or will have to make that call. Good luck!


Ending Thoughts for Today

    White noise can be effective in blocking out distractions, and distractions are a massive roadblock in the journey of spirit communication. I heartily suggest using it as a ally in contacting the dead. Of course there are the same warnings as any spirit communication - spirits can be just as evil as living humans and mental condition has to be taken into consideration.
    What you can expect next from the series is an exploration of other "colours" of noise, visual white noise, and an ongoing experiment I'm doing on noise including the spirits that come through during the experiment. I hope you find this interesting or at the very least - entertaining! I hope that if you try this out safely, you can connect with someone (or something) positive. As always, remember to NEVER antagonize/tease/rile up a spirit, treat them with respect and dignity. That is a one way ticket to crazy town and not a good kind of crazy town. Hauntings can be anything from horror movie scary to a spirit repeating a song over and over - or commenting on everything you do until you hate yourself.. it's not to be taken lightly as even the most innocent of spirits, even the most loving of family members, can get pissed off.
    Healthwise, I wanted to update you. My new treatment is going ok. I am no longer sleeping 12+ hours a day every day.. some days sure.. so I think the negative effects of the new medication are starting to die down. I hope ;)  This only targets the fatigue aspect of my illness, not all the other weird symptoms and intense pain, but that would be enough for me to continue my dream of documenting all my spiritual experiences.

I have so much I want to share with you. Thank you for your continued support and patience. This series is dedicated to Morgan, who turned around my defeatist attitude enough to continue writing.

I also want to remind you - if you want to mail me, it's the blog name at gmail dot com. I might take a while to respond, but I generally get to them eventually.