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Understanding Spirituality as a Paranormal Investigator

Understanding Spirituality as a Paranormal Investigator

Rev. Holly Faust

Paranormal teams, in their own unique way, form a community beyond just proving the existence of the supernatural. They provide services to many people in their community and beyond who are struggling with the unknow. They are a resource of knowledge and information for those who are experiencing things that they cannot explain. There are many aspects of investigation that are important for the team to look at to best assist their clients in understanding what is happening to them and their home or other location historically, physically, and even spiritually.

When I began my career, I was looking for answers. This is honestly how we all began our journeys as investigators. Sadly, there is no form of certification widely accepted in the field, this leads to many investigators only wanting to look at investigations in one way, proof of the existence of the paranormal existing, and not much else for the client when they leave.

However, I digress, this article is for those investigators wanting to have a better understanding of spirituality and its relation to investigations. Not so much for those looking to examine historically haunted locations but for those who are wanting to enter client locations and help them through the process of investigating with feedback and even helping them overcome a haunting, and being more entuned to offering help if there are other things contributing to the occurrences at their location.

Most investigators rely on fancy technical equipment to help them determine if there is something supernatural occurring at a location. Recorders, video cameras, laser grids, etc. many times that is about all they utilize when investigating. This gives them a small snapshot of things happening but not an overall look at the entire larger picture. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with several teams in the time I have been investigating, each with their own unique perspective on the ways that an investigations should conducted. With each team I learned a lot of valuable information that I have carried with me as I have grown as an investigator. One of the most important lessons in investigating that I have learned is having a complete understanding of not only the client, but also their spiritual beliefs and practices. Spirituality itself is so much more than just religion.

When you look up and compare religion and spirituality you get a much broader picture that can truly aid you in understanding and assisting your clients. Religion is a specific set or organized beliefs and practices that are normally shared by a community or group of people. Whereas spirituality is more of an individual practice and has to do with having a sense of peace and purpose. This can also relate to the process of developing beliefs around the meaning of life and our connection with others.

This is why understanding spirituality is an integral part of any investigator's repertoire. If we as investigators are not conducting pre-investigation interviews with our clients to understand their beliefs and practices, we are losing a piece of the all-important puzzle of being able to interpret our evidence and give our clients the best possible answers in manner that is conscious of their beliefs and makes sense to them.

When we enter the homes of Christian practitioners, we do not want to be offering methods of aiding them that would conflict with their belief systems. We would instead look to offer them guidance which goes along with their beliefs and practices (ex. House blessings, soul release, prayer, deliverance ministry, and in the most extreme cases exorcism.) The same with practitioners of other religious and spiritual paths. We as investigators need to be knowledgeable of the many paths we could encounter in our investigations and the methods of engaging in the paranormal that will align with their spiritual practices. We as investigators should be looking at the activity happening in locations with a blank lens free from our own spiritual beliefs. Once we have interpreted and analyzed the evidence, we can align our results with outcomes arranged in a manner that is optimal to the practices of the client we are working with.

I have created a path through integration of aspects from the different things I have learned through working with the different teams that I have, I feel these can be optimal for all teams and expanded on a bit to help ensure the quality of investigations. These are the steps I take when I am working on client investigations.

  • Intake information and short interviews.
  • Discuss intake as a team and decide whether to pursue an investigation.
  • Long Interview: This should be recorded when possible and notes taken. Get as much information as possible. Really get to know the client who they are, what they do, what their beliefs are.
  • Schedule a walkthrough get as much information about the location as possible down to electricity, building materials, and even plumbing.
  • Research: This to me is one of the most important aspects of the investigation process. Get as much information as you can on the client, their background, and the property. We should know as much information as we can about the location and what it was before any homes were built. This can aid us in the investigation process.
  • This will lead up to the investigation. If possible, your research and investigation teams should be two different ones. This way there is no preconceived ideas going into the actual investigation. If utilizing a psychic no information should be shared with them.
  • Analyzing: Get the entire team back together to go over findings. Look at all the physical and psychical evidence. Bring in the research and see if it coincides with the evidence found and attempt to interpret what is paranormal and what can be explained by man made influences. Sometimes man made could simply be human energy.
  • Introduce findings to the clients and work with them on solutions that align with their beliefs.

In the coming weeks I am hoping to share information with you all on spirituality. We can all learn something about the beliefs of others. This can help us be more knowledgeable and open to clients from all paths and levels of society. This can also aid us in interpreting the information we obtain at locations.

For more information please go to www.HollyFaust.com.