Published on 06/20/2008

The concept of a spirituality that embraces the pure form of the spirit without any of the restrictions or guidelines that go hand in hand with religion has led many people to think of spirituality with the same fear and disdain that the word “Witchcraft” generated during the Salem witch trials. In many ways, they aren’t so far off. Spirituality and the paranormal do go hand in hand…they just aren’t the unholy duo that they are often falsely accused of being.

Let’s take a moment to discuss what “paranormal” means before exploring the relationship between spirituality and the paranormal. Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe events seemingly beyond the scope of scientific explanation, and it refers to such events as:

- ghost sightings
- poltergeist
- ESP
- telepathy
- telekinesis
- hauntings

Paranormal activity is anything that can’t be measured or quantified, and it involves activities which are believed to have their roots in another plane of reality.

With a better understanding of paranormal phenomena, let’s explore the relationship between spirituality and the paranormal. Spirituality involves an understanding of the fact that we each are but a small part of a larger whole-that there is far more to the universe and its workings than we have been taught to believe.

Part of this is the belief that our spirit is intimately intertwined with other planes of reality, including the existence of a strictly spirit world. Carl Jung was an influential Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist, the developer of the Myers-Briggs type indicator used by employers and psychologists today. He had a deep interest in the occult, and his esoteric beliefs led to the development of his theories on the collective unconscious.

The collective unconscious refers to the spiritual model of living beings, the part of our unconscious that is the same from person to person. Jung speculated that underneath our physical exterior we were all connected by our collective unconscious, and it was this collective unconscious that was responsible for the connection between spirituality and the paranormal.

Think about it. If we are all connected by our spirit, doesn’t it make sense that our spirits could communicate with each other? (Hence the occurrence of ESP or telepathy)? What is to stop our spirits from continuing to communicate after our physical forms have died? (Hauntings) Our spirituality is what allows paranormal events to occur in a normal plane of existence, proving that spirituality and the paranormal share the most natural of relationships.