Afraid of the Dark

[Nani]

This is pretty embarassing but it's a real problem I have. I've always been kind of weary of the dark because I have an overactive imagination. But lately it's been bothering me more than usual because of all the stuff I've been reading on Erin's site. A lot of what she says comforts me but other things scare the heck out of me, like astral vampires, ghosts, harmful entities...The thought of all that being real scares me so bad. I REALLY don't want to believe in any of those but I take Erin's word on everything else, and it doesn't make sense to pick and choose what I want to believe.

So basically, I'm just always imagining something's out to get me when I'm in the dark and it's truly frightening. It's not really the darkness itself that I fear...more like how I can't see when I'm in it, and how I feel vulnerable, like anything can come get me. I used to tell myself that ghosts and whatnot don't exist and that would calm me considerably, but I can't even tell myself that now. And the noises and bumps I hear at night sometimes don't help at all.

Is there any way I can stop being afraid?

[dreamscape]

I used to have the same problem. It always seemed those creeks and bumps were twice as loud in the dark. Going into work in the morning very tired from staying up all night really got old. It got to the point where I would sleep all day and stay up all night. To top it off I would have some very bad dreams when sleeping during the day.

One night I spent the night over a friends house and the house was pitch black and I slept like a baby. From that point on I just wasn't afraid anymore. I just had to face my fear to get over it...

[Winston]

I think you should also try and slowly discipline your mind more. Those fears have power over you only insofar as you think about them. If you can discipline your mind to think about pleasant things at night (maybe putting on some soft music would help) then you should get better. You've got to take control of your imagination and stop thinking scary thoughts.

[dreamscape]

Good advice, also maybe a good comedy flick before bedtime. That used to help me.

[Mags]

A psychic I once saw on a TV documentary said that negative entities will always leave if you tell them to (firmly). Since seeing that, whenever I've felt scared for some reason (especially at night), I say (either out loud or in my head) "Only angels and spirits aligned with the highest good are allowed in my home. All negative entities are to leave immediately and not return" (or something similar, you get the gist). After which I usually say the Lord's prayer and reaffirm my connection to my spirit guides and God.

It works for me in that usually after I've done that I feel the fear subsiding. I'm not sure if I've really banished anything other than my imagination , but a feeling of love and peace seems to come over me after I've done that, so it's all good!

[Erin Pavlina]

Yes, telling negative energy to go works well. You are the master of your physical domain. I once went through my parents house while everyone was out and told all the ookie spookies to vacate the premises pronto! I just stormed through every room, told them I'd had enough, and commanded them to leave. Worked wonders. It also raises your energy to do something like that. Use that third chakra!

Fear can attract them to you, so make a point of going to bed feeling empowered. Imagine an astral shield, armor and sword before going to bed.

[Rosie]

I'm nineteen and still a bit afraid of the dark, so don't feel bad. If I'm alone in the house I always make sure to keep atleast one light on.

[dreamscape]

okie spookies... lol
Erin you are so adorable

[Nani]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I never thought of associating pleasant thoughts with the dark, so I'll definitely try to do that.

Also, the next time I walk into a dark room, I'll be OK if I tell all the negative entities to leave? Am I gonna have to do this every time, or will it become unnecessary once I don't feel afraid anymore? And Erin, you say fear attracts them to you...but what happens then? Can they hurt you...and in what way? I don't really know what negative energy looks like or what it does. I'm sorry for asking so many questions.

[Erin Pavlina]

I think I may have written a blog entry on if ghosts or negative energy can hurt you. Let me find the link:

Erin Pavlina - Spiritual Wisdom for Conscious People » Blog Archive » Ask Erin: Are ghosts dangerous?

Keep telling them to go away until you don't feel afraid anymore. One thing that will raise your vibration pretty quickly is humor. Watch something funny before going to bed. Gratitude works too. Call someone on the phone and tell them you love them. Nothing is as magical a "shield" as love.

[JSB]

I read something from Wong Kiew Kit (a Buddhist Shaolin master) where he mentioned that ghosts and spirits would sometimes appear when or his students were practicing qigong. He wrote that they were attracted to the energy like moths to a candle flame.

His recommendation was to bless them and send them kind, loving thoughts --- he would chant Buddhist Sutras to them.

What he described sounded more like lost souls or entities, rather than the nasty predatory things that Erin has met.

[Nani]

Thanks for the article, Erin! It cleared up a few things I was wondering about.

But, um, since these evil beings can harm me, should I be weary of them in the dark? Must I keep them in mind every time I walk into a dark room, or is it okay to ignore them? The truth is that I just don't want anything to do with evil spirits and ghosts. I don't even want to think about them. I'd like to pretend they don't even exist in my reality.

But from what I understand in the article, if I'm afraid enough, something evil could go ahead and strangle me...Is that how it works? If that's the case then I really can't ignore it, can I?

[Erin Pavlina]

I think I mentioned in the article how extremely unlikely it is that a negative entity is actually interested in or capable of harming you. 99.9% of our population has nothing to to worry about in my opinion.

But I do want to affirm this... if you are in a low vibrational state such as shame or guilt and you have lost your connection to love and you have given away your personal power and you have stopped listening to your intuition and you have stopped expressing your truth, then you are going to be very prone to attack by a negative entity.

[Hari.c]

First I would like to thank Nani for bringing this up. Because I faced the same fear after started reading Erin's articles. I never used to feel fear in the dark before. I started reading Erin's articles and believing what ever Erin said, fear started in my mind. When ever I get up in the night I feel very afraid of evil forces and later I stopped visiting Erin's website. In the recent days I am just visiting Steve's site and not visiting Erin's website just because of this reason. I would love to read her articles and I strongly believe what ever she says is true. I will start applying the technique that she told.

[Erin Pavlina]

LOL... okay it's not all bad out there!

I've always been sort of hesitant to describe some of the bad experiences I had with the paranormal when I was younger, but I also felt it was important to share for the people who were going through it. I didn't want to act like it never happens. I want people to be prepared.

But it's all about love and light now. Nothing bad out there but your own fear.