a ghost? or...

An underwater bubble ring, similar to those made by humpback whales, possibly as a form of communication.

Here is an example of how cultural conditioning determines how we describe and understand our experience. To be clear, we all are culturally conditioned. This is not a disorder or a condition to be cured, although we do have some agency over it. Read on...

Several years ago, I was on retreat with a spiritual group I had joined a few years prior. In this spiritual path (about which more later...maybe...), participants gather in small groups of 10-13 individuals in the presence of a certified teacher of the path. From that platform, anything can happen.

The only instruction or protocol is to be where you are in your experience. What's coming up as you sit here? What do you bring with you into this room? And so on. Each person has an opportunity, if they wish, to speak about their experience with the support and guidance of the teacher. These 1:1 exchanges, which happen without the interruption or participation of other individuals in the group, may last 10, 15, or 20 minutes. So, there is time to let experience unfold and deepen.

We begin these meetings with a brief meditation. During the meditation period of the meeting in question, my body disappeared. This was strange, something I'd never known before, so I began my 1:1 by speaking about this. The teacher, who herself had had a lot of "strange" experiences and worked with loads of people on their own "strange" experiences, said that she wasn't aware of any spiritual experience in which the body totally disappears.

As we worked together, my attention kept turning to a space to my left. There was no one there, just the expanse of the large room. Finally the teacher asked me why I kept looking in that direction. "There's something there." "Something?" "Yes, like a presence of some kind."

She continued asking questions, which is the primary way teachers work in this path. Finally, I said, "It's like a ghost. It has a human shape but without identifiable features." She said that she had been aware of a ghost in the building for some years and had avoided going into one part of the building because of its presence. (Ghosts are not part of the repertoire of this spiritual path, but this teacher's previous work had included working with disembodied entities.)

The teacher asked if I was afraid. I said, no, I wasn't afraid. Rather, I felt compassion because I sensed that this presence, this ghost, was suffering. "Would you like to help it?" "Yes." She guided me through a practice of attuning myself to a particular aspect of spiritual dimensions, one I knew from experience. Then she guided me to allow the presence to enter me and move through me. "Don't let it get stuck in you. Let it move right through and up out of your head." I did this and felt a great sense of relief and release.

So, that was my experience.

Why did I use the word, "ghost"? It wasn't the first word that came to mind. That word was "presence." But to communicate more specifically what type of presence, I used the word, "ghost." This is a culturally conditioned word. When I say, "ghost," I bet an image comes to mind for you. Maybe Casper, the Friendly Ghost? or maybe, "Ghostbusters"? or perhaps an image something like a sheet moving slowly just off the ground? or perhaps something a transparent human shape (as in this photo)? or something entirely different? But I would lay odds that that image is something close to one of those cultural "ghost" icons.

Is this a problem? No, not necessarily. But if, as I do, you want to find a more fundamental way of describing and understanding your experience, consider asking yourself, "Am I operating under some form of conditioning here? Am I experiencing myself or this event or that other person through the lens of conditioning? Is this something someone has taught me, or something my family believed, or something I learned in a religious or educational setting?" If the answer is, "yes," see if you can let that conditioning stand aside.

I will wager that by doing this, your heart will open. Your senses will expand. Your mind will slow down. And that, my friend, may lead you to some interesting places. Be not afraid. You can always come back to the security of your conditioning, but a short vacation may be just what is needed.