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| Kitty Janusz during a paranormal investigation on board the RMS Queen Mary |
Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!
We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. Look for our forthcoming book, “Walking The Tarot Path” in August 2016.
We’ve created this blog to share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical and paranormal community. We hope it’s as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!
Kitty Janusz is one
mighty metaphysician. She’s the founder of
Into The Light Paranormal, and in addition to conducting paranormal
investigations, she’s a psychic medium, hypnotherapist, Reiki master…and master
blogger. She also hosts a weekly radio show, interviewing a plethora of
interesting, on the fringe guests, including cryptozoologists, historians,
mediums, healers and authors. Speaking
of writing, Kitty’s recent book chronicling her lifetime of ghost hunting When The Dead Speak: The Art & Science of Paranormal
Investigation, has (deservedly) earned the coveted five stars on
Amazon.com, and just won first prize in it's category at the Los Angeles Festival Of Books.
Kitty grew up in a haunted house in the Los Angeles suburb
of Whittier, where she still resides.
Her supernatural experiences as a child colored her irrevocably; guiding
her incredible career and the life she leads now- with friends on both sides of
the veil. Kitty illuminates her varied experiences- and some tips for
conducting successful paranormal investigations here:
Divination Nation: You’ve had several paranormal experiences your
entire life… when and how did you start communicating with
spirits? Did you have a mentor, or just start doing it yourself? Can you
tell us about some early encounters?
Kitty Janusz: I grew
up in what would now be considered a very paranormally active home. My brother and sister and I knew that this
resident spirit meant no harm and it was considered just another member of the
household. At that time, we didn’t really know there was a way to communicate
with spirits so we just enjoyed his antics of blowing curtains in rooms with
closed windows, footsteps and always finding objects that have been moved to
peculiar places. We could feel the static electricity in spots-our hallway always
gave me the creeps! I have to say the only time I directly communicated with
this spirit is when it frightened me, although I believe it was probably
unintentional. I was about 7 years old. I had just climbed into bed and closed
my eyes when I felt something hop on the corner of the bed. Now we always had
several cats with us growing up and of course they wanted to sleep in the bed…but
this didn’t feel like a cat...the pressure kept sinking the bed’s corner down.
I snapped my eyes open and bolted upright. Indeed, the bed’s corner had “
someone” sitting on it! It was just a bit too close for comfort and I shouted,
“Stop that!” Immediately, the pressure was gone. It never did it again. Other
than that one too close for comfort episode with me, we just figured everybody had a ghost in his or her house
and it was no big deal. Years passed and this spirit went on his merry way.
As an adult I love
old historic locations and a favorite playground is the RMS Queen Mary. I’d
heard the stories growing up that she was haunted and I thought. “Well, we’ll
see what we can find.” I was attending a conference aboard and during a break I
went to the lower deck that holds the Infirmary Ward. I had a trusty little
digital recorder with me and started a short EVP session. My first one, I
asked, “Can you tell me what year it is?” I had to get back to the conference.
Later in the hotel room, I played it back, holding the recorder up to my ear…
“Can you tell me what year it is?” I heard a raspy whisper.. 1943! I squealed!
I was hooked!
My first real investigation I was so excited to be in these
places in the wee hours when no one else is there that I don’t remember
what evidence we captured. What I do
remember is we were standing in the pitch black cargo hold of the Queen Mary. It’s
so dangerous that it is now closed off even to employees. You could only access
it by climbing down these steep, rusty stairs. There was a bulkhead door that
opened up to about a thirty foot drop! This is an area reported to have held
POWs during her wartime service. My sister was having tummy issues that night.
Suddenly, the group heard a low, growling rumble! Well I knew it was my sister
but my sister was too mortified to confess and grabbed my arm and pleaded with
me to say nothing. Before I knew it everyone thought they were having
communication with this growling spirit.
“It sounded like it was saying “Help me” “I think it was a demon” “No. I heard
a little girl’s voice” it spiraled out of control and at that point I knew
investigators are quick to believe any noise they hear is something paranormal,
I could feel the heat of my sister blushing from embarrassment as she stood in
the corner in the dark. Even today I find investigators are just sure they see
Aunt Mabel in an orb and think every thump is a ghost. I admit sometimes I find
myself trying to justify a shadow as something paranormal because I really want
something to be there. It’s hard to admit sometimes you come away with nothing
other than an experience in a creepy location.
Divination Nation: Did you have a mentor, or just start doing
investigations by yourself?
Kitty Janusz: love
the books by Jeff Belanger and I highly recommend attending any paranormal
lectures in your area. Dave Schrader of Darkness Radio is a great guy and funny
as hell. I did lose two good friends this year, Mark & Debby Constantino.
They taught me so much about capturing EVPs. They will be truly missed.
DN: How do you prepare prepare mentally, emotionally,
physically for your investigations now? And what do you do to
stay safe spiritually?
KJ: I believe
it’s a sorely overlooked aspect of paranormal investigations. Investigating the
paranormal deals heavily in measuring energy and fluctuations in the
electromagnetic fields. We are one of the best tools in our arsenal for
detecting such fluctuations. Your hair standing up, feeling that static
electricity in the air, even feelings of sudden pain, sadness, or nausea may be
signs of spirit either transferring their emotions or trauma in an effort to
communicate. It is imperative that we set boundaries as to how close these
energetic influences can come in and affect us. It a choice on our part to have
spirit enter us or to say, “You know, I feel your pain, please stand next to me
and we can have this conversation side by side.” I don’t feel it’s safe to
allow spirits to channel through me completely. I prefer to have a discussion
and maintain control. There are a lot of opportunists out there in the
metaphysical. Be careful.
As for mental and emotional preparation, I am going there to
connect with spirit. I am going to a location to communicate, offer solace and
healing, and if need be, help them find their way to the Light. If I know a
particular location has a negative entity, I prepare by doing a short
meditation. I envision wrapping myself in a golden light, shooting through my
head and shooting through my feet into the earth to ground myself. This
accomplishes two things. One, I am visualizing my personal boundaries and thus,
“Owning my space.” This also puts me in
touch with my chakras and become aware of any vulnerability ahead of time and I
can fix it right there. It may sound woo woo but being present and aware of
your own energy is what keeps you connected and protected. Two, by coming into
a location visualizing yourself as a golden rod of pure light, it sends that
message out to the Universe and it is very effective at keeping negative
entities at bay. Where there is light, darkness cannot exist.
DN: Tell
us about your book.
KJ: I was
actually laid up after surgery and a friend suggested I write a book to fill my
time. I came at this book with the idea that there are two schools of thought
on connecting with spirit. The first is the scientific method. The scientific
reasoning on how, why, and when paranormal phenomena occurs. I discuss how
Quantum theory and the metaphysical are intertwining together and explain the
popular theories such as Water memory and Stone Tape theories. These theories
try to explain how energetic imprints may become imbedded in locations with a
tragic or emotional past. But scientific theories are only part of the
equation. Paranormal phenomena is almost impossible to replicate in a lab
setting. It’s more of a field research. I also think it’s important in showing
the reader that everyone has intuitive abilities. I share ways to tune these
abilities and interpret what you feel when you’re investigating. Using all
these tools at your disposal will make you an ethical, credible, paranormal
investigator.
DN: You
wear many hats; how do you divide your attention between paranormal
investigations, your work as a medium, your radio show, your blog, and
everything else you do? Does it all seem like one big inter-connected
thing, or…?
KJ: I don’t sleep much!
Kidding aside, I do have a regular job that I go to
everyday. Looking for potential guests,
I just seek out people that interest me! I think if you are truly interested in
what your guest does, the conversation just flows. One of my favorite
interviews was with a taxidermist from the Los Angeles Museum of Natural
History. Allis Markham looks like Betty Page and is taking the world of
taxidermy by storm. I was so excited to talk about taxidermy and how it’s such
an art (it’s not gross!) that the whole interview was more like two girls
gossiping on a Saturday night than a radio interview! It was so much fun.
When a client books a mediumship reading, I prefer to
actually do the reading alone, in quiet. I need to get into that meditative
state to clear my mind to allow spirit to come through. I find it easier to
connect with spirit and call the client afterwards and I answer any questions. I
believe meditation is a great tool in training your brain and body to channel
and focus. Yeah, but I don’t get enough sleep though! Ha!
DN: Tell us
about your most significant- or moving- experiences both as a medium and
as a paranormal investigator.
One of my favorite readings was for a young mother who had
lost a child. I kept getting these visions of weird bugs flying around the
mother. They looked artificial, like drawings. I didn’t want to say I saw flies
around her so I said, “What’s with the bees? I keep seeing bees or strange bugs
around you.” This is where the clairecognizence, or the sense of knowing, comes
into play. Something just kept telling me her dead son was sending these bugs
to her. “He’s telling me he’s sending you these bugs. Are you seeing bugs in
strange places? They look like little drawings of bugs.” The mom burst into
tears. “My dead son always would draw little bugs! “ “But he keeps telling me
he’s bringing them to you now.” “OMG! My living son has recently started
drawing the same kind of bugs! How could you know that!” It was a very sweet
message from a little boy to show his mom he’s OK.
Also, I’m partial to the Queen Mary. While doing an
investigation in the Pool Room, we had lengthy K2 session with “Jackie” a
spirit who represents herself as a child spirit. Whoever this little spirit is,
she’s quite the show boater, signing audibly, and answering our endless questions.
However, when she becomes tired, she lets you know. She loves giving hugs. All
of us present could feel a cool breeze caress us from one side and around the
other, first one person, then the next. It was such a moving experience because
it was so sweet and touching.
DN: What’s
your favorite piece of equipment to use in investigations, and why?
KJ: I am
partial to digital recorders. I find I get good quality EVPs at almost every
location. There are more high tech models out there but I prefer the Olympus
pc4100. Newer ones have many internal filters. It’s what worked for me and I
stand by my evidence. I toss out anything that might be questionable or any I
have to “clean up” too much to sound plausible. Many prefer photographic
evidence but your eyes try so hard to make patterns out of shapes. I’m just not
really an orb person.
DN: Would you please
share some of your top tips and advice on conducting paranormal investigations
for our readers?
KJ: Be
respectful of space and spirit. Many of these souls died tragic deaths and may
still be lost or terrified. Don’t taunt or provoke in the name of evidence.
Think of them as a family member. Would you want someone shouting commands at
your crying little sister?
Be respectful of space. Are you in someone’s home? Be
mindful of the family’s plight and remember you are there to help first and
foremost. Are you in a historic location? Treat it like the museum it is.
Visit locations many times. They remember you and your attitude! If you cross spirit
over, I believe it invites more to come, as they see you as someone who can
help. Be a jerk and taunt and provoke, and the energy will reflect your
attitude.
Your favorite piece of equipment will yield good results the
more you use it. I believe it becomes some sort of energetic bond.
Love what you do and do it with the intention of learning
something everyday.
#
Purchase a copy of Kitty’s book, When The Dead Speak: The Art
& Science of Paranormal Investigation here:
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| Crystal and Pleasant: photo by Maharet Hughes |
Visit our website to book metaphysical and occult workshops, Tarot readings and healings, or to have us come out for a paranormal investigation: www.thedivinationnation.com
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To find out more about Pleasant or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://www.pleasantgehman.com/
For more on Crystal’s background, or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://crystalravenwolf.com
