KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

by Sam Bennett

Here’s an example of the kind of letter I frequently receive from my clients: "I know what I need to do, I just can’t make myself do it. I watch endless YouTube videos, I play computer solitaire, I fool around on Facebook — I even scrub my kitchen floors — all just to avoid the work that I know is my destiny. I get so mad at myself. Am I chasing a shadow goal? What do I do?" — Elizabeth

Here’s what I would say to Elizabeth, and to you, since chances are fairly high you are dealing with the same concerns:

"Rest easy, honey — you are merely suffering from a biological imperative called 'displacement activity.'" Displacement activity is what happens when an animal is in the grip of two conflicting instincts, and so it enacts a third, seemingly inappropriate behavior.

For example, you’ve probably seen a chimpanzee being challenged by another chimpanzee. When the first chimp doesn’t know whether to run away or fight, he might scratch his head...yawn...look away...start grooming himself. Seems like a very passive response to aggression, but that chimp will do anything to deflect the energy, avoid making a decision, and otherwise make himself as invisible as possible.

When you have the instinct to create and you simultaneously have the instinct not to create, your fear says, “Don’t do it!” And so, confused by these two equally strong instincts, you shut down and get stuck playing an online word game for hours on end.
Sometimes years.

It doesn’t mean you have low self-esteem, and it doesn’t mean your dream is impossible, and it certainly doesn’t mean you’re lazy. So the next time this happens, just recognize the dynamic without yelling at yourself. “Ah,” you might say instead, “I appear to be having the instinct to create something. And I also find myself feeling afraid of what will happen if I create that thing. Perfectly natural. But my fear does not get to make my decisions for me. So I will now set my kitchen timer for fifteen minutes and just play around with my creative idea in a light, fun, beta-testing sort of a way and then see what happens.” And that’s what it’s all about — giving you the loving encouragement you need to move forward. And maybe a little loving thwack upside the head.

Here’s a good shorthand tip: If you have lots and lots of ideas, you may want to pick one using the same method some people use to pay off their credit cards. That is, either pick the one that’s closest to being done and finish that one, or pick the one that has the highest “interest” rate and finish that one.

Fifty years from now, the details that you are worrying about will not matter one whit. But the art you create, the novel you write, the doll you sew, the dance you perform, the photograph you take — that will still be making a difference in the world.

Action Step
As your first step to action, spend fifteen minutes right now playing around with your favorite project. Once you get started, you'll find yourself compelled to continue!

From the book Get It Done by Sam Bennett. Copyright © 2014 by Samantha Bennett. Reprinted with permission from New World Library. www.NewWorldLibrary.com

Sam Bennett worked at the renowned Second City Theatre in Chicago alongside comics Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert. In addition to her multifaceted writing and performance work, she specializes in personal branding and career strategies. She lives in Los Angeles, CA. Her website is TheOrganizedArtistCompany.com

We bought a new house about a year ago. We got it for an incredibly low price. At first I attributed this to the housing slump and felt really good about it; now I'm not so sure. The problem is that every several weeks, we are awakened in the middle of the night by a loud crashing sound. It always happens around two a.m., and it always sounds pretty much the same. The first time it happened, I thought we had an intruder. The second time it happened, I thought maybe something had collapsed or fallen over in the house. Now that it has happened many times, I just roll over and go back to sleep. While this doesn't feel creepy or ominous, it is unsettling. Do you think it could be paranormal? Is someone trying to get our attention?

Carol

Susyn:

Before purchasing a property, it is always a good idea to investigate its history. While there are indeed a lot of great deals are out there given the housing market slump, people have been known to sell off haunted houses for ridiculously low prices just to be free of them.

As you have already bought the property, I would check out a few other things before assuming you have a ghost. Since the crashing sound always occurs around the same time, it may be that a heater or cooling system is creating this noise. Sometimes loose pipes or temperature changes can cause loud noises. A licensed heating/cooling specialist should be able to rule this possibility out. Plumbing can also create all sorts of noises, so be sure to investigate this idea as well.

Once you have established that the sound is not coming from a physical source, it's time to head to your local library or search the internet for articles that may illuminate your house's history. If these efforts don't turn up anything, visit your county clerk's office to find more information.

Your neighbors may also be able to help you. If they have lived there a long time, they should be able to tell you of any strange events like violent crimes or tragic deaths that occurred in the house. They may even know about paranormal activity prior residents may have experienced.

There are two types of hauntings that can occur in a home. One is called a residual haunting where events from the past replay themselves. These hauntings are not dangerous, for they do not involve the presence of conscious metaphysical entities. The fact that the sound occurs at the same time in the night suggests that if something pararnormal is occuring, it's a residual haunting.

If this were an intelligent haunting, a conscious entity would be involved. I doubt that this is what you are dealing with, however, for you don't mention any other phenomena aside from this crashing noise. Intelligent hauntings tend to accelerate over time and are not limited to one location or type of event.

If there is something paranormal going on, you may be able to quiet things down by performing a cleansing and blessing ritual. Buy a sage smudge stick at your local metaphysical store. Light the stick and move from room to room with it, asking that all entities that do not belong there leave the premises at once. If you identify the exact location the sound is coming from, leave the smudge stick there for extra purification.

*****

Oceania:

It's possible that there is something paranormal happening; you may have a ghost or the energy of your home may be unbalanced. If this is the case, you could hire a professional to help clear your home's energy, or you could do some research and address the matter yourself using a methodology like feng shui. Of course, you could also continue to ignore it.

I think the paranormal offers the simplest and perhaps least interesting explanation. I like to view every life challenge as an opportunity for spiritual growth, so let's explore a deeper, more personal explanation for these disturbing events.

Psychologists sometimes use projective tests like the Rorschach to understand a client's internal world. In this particular test, clients describe what they see in inkblots. Since these inkblots have random shapes, everyone sees something different in them. Basically what an individual sees has nothing to do with the inkblot itself and everything to do with the viewer.

Our environments can also serve as projective tools. The things that catch our attention and the way we describe those things often says more about us than it does about what we're observing. According to the Law of Attraction, like energies attract, so whatever is going on in your life is a reflection of your vibration. By changing your thoughts and your feelings, you can change your life.

Taking the above notions into account, we might presume that you are noticing loud noises around two a.m. because they reflect something within you. The number two symbolizes relationship; loud crashes symbolize conflict.

Is it possible you have some inner tension or relationship conflict? You used the words intruder and collapsed or fallen over. Do you feel intruded upon, disrespected or violated? Do you feel like you or a relationship is collapsing or falling apart?

You also wrote that you roll over and go back to sleep. If you are indeed experiencing some inner conflict, we could translate that to I give up, surrender, and go back to minimizing the problem. I sweep it under the rug. Denial may work for a while, but as you've noticed, the conflict (crashes) will continue.

Though on a conscious level you may be quite content, there may some disappointment or conflict within yourself or your relationship that is trying to get your attention. If these crashes are signs of inner conflict, they should stop happening once that conflict has been resolved.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.