You're in a somewhat dark room alone, perhaps on an investigation perhaps you were just minding your own business when out of nowhere you're suddenly confronted with something which you have no explanation for. An event which singly changes your perceived understanding of the known world, and singly if only for a moment becomes the most important event in your life. You are confronted with something that potentially defies the logic which you've spent the rest of your life learning. What is your reaction?
If you're like most other people, the first reaction is disbelief and then fear. Sometimes this reaction is closely followed by panic. One of the "Built" in responses in humans to being confronted with something is a "Fight or Flight" response. This actually is the same in most creatures in nature. In that split instance we are forced to make a decision of whether to stand and fight or run.
In most cases when this event is something of possible paranormal or unexplained nature, the common response would be a flight response. Since your mind starts to perceive that there is nothing there, nothing of substance how can you possibly fight this.
This is a perfectly normal reaction and I for one will never fault anyone for it. But once the initial reaction wears off, its time to look at your options and find a better reaction should it happen again.
I find myself and others telling people to "try to stay calm", but the instant I say it I try to put myself in the situation and realize that its not always an easy thing to do.
I try to promote an acronym which I coined called "C.A.L.M.". Why come up with some hokey acronym? Because in times of stress, its easier to remember a process if we have a key word to remember it by. That's really the only reason.
What does it stand for?
Calm
Assertive
Logical
Mindful
How does this relate to being faced with a potentially paranormal event? Well the first thing you want to do is attempt to stay "Calm". This is important because one thing that tends to happen is as the brains fear response kicks in it becomes hyper-reactive and starts to associate other potentially unrelated events into a pattern. I've experienced it myself and can create a form of paranoia.
If you remember back to when you were a child, and perhaps you and your friends all sat around a fire, beach, woods or somewhere together and started telling scary stories. Well then all of the sudden you hear a small noise, and instantly the fear response kicks in, everything becomes frightening and a sort-of hysteria kicks in. After you calm down you realize that you just psyched yourself into a frenzy and realize that there was nothing to worry about.
This is why calm is important, and often calm becomes easier with more understanding. We generally fear what we do not understand.
Second, "Assertive". Once you've gotten past the initial event, its important to remain assertive. Keep in control, and claim your space. If it is in fact a true paranormal event, the best thing you can do is to claim your personal space and remain calm and positive about it. If you stay in control, you will never be a victim. If this has happened in your house, claim the house. State your boundaries out loud, and let anything there know what you will allow and what you will not allow. It may not always stop, but at least you will have made it clear that you will not simply a victim or pawn. Of course, its also important to make sure that the space you claim is yours to claim. In other words if you're at a location (for instance a cemetery, etc...) which you don't own but you are merely visiting, you can claim your personal space but not the location.
Third "Logic", of course me being of a scientific mind, this is my personal favorite. Before assuming something is of paranormal nature, first explore the normal first. This will also help in getting others involved if the situation should call for it. The more work you do in trying to look at possible natural causes, the more it will leave only those items which have no other explanation. Using logic and the logical process can also help you sometimes remove some of the fear from the situation. All four of these aspects work together.
And last, "Mindful". This one sometimes is most difficult to understand. Where does this fit in? Well, if after going over what you've seen/heard/experienced, and thinking about it calmly and logically you still believe it to be paranormal in nature... THEN, its important to also be mindful of what it actually is. Remember, those who are dead were also once alive. Try not to be disrespectful of them, that will often go a long way towards helping find peace for yourself, those around you, and the spirits themselves. Also remember that as they were in life, so they will likely be afterwards as well. You'll find all kinds of people on this earth, some good and some bad so its no small stretch that you'll likely find the same in the spirit world. Look at the actions they make, and ask yourself who would do that and why? That times may be enough to answer many questions. Try not to provoke, don't do something to simply solicit a response. Be mindful of them, just as you would a living person.
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These are just some of my thoughts on the subject. I welcome input and look forward to hearing some opinions. Again, I'm no scholar in this never claimed to be. So take these as what they are, just my own personal opinions.
