The unquiet dead are the middle-worldMiddle-world. Ordinary physical reality together with its energetic layers: the realm of individuality, separation and mixed intentions, and the only realm where harm is possible. “If there is a hell, then it is the middle-world.” Read the full answer selves of people who have died but have not moved on to the land of the dead, and who still wander amongst the living: “They are, in other words, ghosts.” Paul Francis came to accept that they are real, though not every apparent spirit is one. They are as mixed as the living, and even the kindly ones are not good for the living to be around.
Who are the unquiet dead? #
“These are the souls of humans who have died, but who have not moved over to the afterlife. Instead, they continue to wander amongst the living. They are, in other words, ghosts.” More precisely, “the unquiet dead are middle-world souls/egos that have not passed over to the land of the dead, but are instead hanging around the land of the living.”1
They are called “unquiet” because “they are not souls at rest. They are still entangled in the middle-world, and unwilling to let go and move on.”2
Are ghosts real? #
As both a psychotherapist and a shamanic practitioner, Paul spent years going backwards and forwards between the shaman’s usual default (spirits are real) and the psychotherapist’s (they are disowned parts-of-self). In the end, he personally concluded that sometimes the shamans were right, and at other times the psychotherapists were right: sometimes the spirits are real, and sometimes they are not. He realised the importance of not having a “default position” that might distort his perception of what was actually there.3
“Once I had accepted the reality of spirits, I had no problem accepting the reality of human ghosts. Rather, my reluctance was about facing up to the sheer scale of the issue.” He took the phrase “the unquiet dead” from The Unquiet Dead: A Psychologist Treats Spirit Possession by Edith Fiore, a traditionally trained psychologist and clinical hypnotherapist who came to realise that, in some cases, her patients’ problems were caused by the presence in them of the souls of the dead.4
Why do some of the dead not move on? #
There are a variety of reasons why this may be. They include:
– unfinished business, such as resentments, grudges or wanting revenge; – feeling pulled back by someone still living who is unwilling to let them go, which “highlights the importance of the living being able to move through the grieving process and then be able to let the dead go”; – fear of facing someone who died before them, or fear of going to hell; – wanting to help or protect someone still living; – being controlled by another soul who has not moved on; – not knowing they are dead, or being confused and frightened; – and, in some cases, having decided to prey on the living.5
Are they all dangerous? #
“In terms of their nature and intentions, the unquiet dead are as much of a mixed bag as the living are. Some are just lost or frightened and need help.” Some are trying to help, though unwittingly doing harm, “as even with the best will in the world, the energy of the dead is not good for the living to be around.” Some are selfish, and some are outright dangerous, and those will often be looking for a host body.6
This is why the shamanic aim “is always to make sure the dead move on and leave the living alone”, which is “in marked contrast to mediumship”.7
How do they affect the living? #
Their presence alone is not good for the living, and they can also possess people: “possession by the unquiet dead is vastly more common than possession by a malevolent non-human spirit.” Caution is needed, though: “diagnosing possession is not an exact art”, and “not all possessions are real. Some are delusions, or disowned parts-of-self. … Always consider mental health issues before doing a depossessionDe-possession. The healing for a full entity takeover: persuading or compelling the possessing entity out, then disposing of it, and always addressing the underlying soul-loss and Power-loss that let it in. More about this.”8
See What is possession, and what is de-possession?
What should we do if we meet one? #
Nothing, if we choose. We can just walk away. Until we are well experienced in both the Lower-WorldLower-World. The realm of Mother Earth: pure, unspoilt, wild nature, with no technology and no agriculture. Home of the Peoples and of our own Soul, and completely safe: feeling threatened in a journey is a reliable sign of not having reached it. Read the full answer and the Upper-WorldUpper-World. The realm of Father Sky and of Spirit: spacious, rarefied and clear, layered in tiers, offering not escape but perspective. Not better than the Lower-World: we ascend rooted, and bring the gifts back down. Read the full answer, have strong connections with GuidesGuides. The Lower-World and Upper-World beings a practitioner works with and learns from, of whom the Power Animal is the first and foremost. True Guides are ethical to their core; the shaman’s power comes from the depth of these bonds, not from the shaman. More about this from both, and know how to do middle-world work safely, walking away, or seeking the help of someone more experienced, is strongly advised. Otherwise, we can ask our Guides to deal with them, and one of them can act as the psychopomp. “Unless you are highly experienced though, in order to stay safe and not risk being possessed yourself, you must in no circumstances go with the Guide who is doing the psychopompingPsychopomping. Guiding the dead on and away to where they belong: one of the shaman’s oldest tasks, and the exact opposite of mediumship, which draws the dead back. More about this or go anywhere near the land of the dead yourself.”9
The attitude matters too. Shamans are “pretty matter-of-fact about the whole issue”. Some people get frightened, and fear can become contagious, so it helps to come “from a grounded, assured and calm place”. “In short, no ‘woo-woo’!”10
See What is psychopomping? and How does Therapeutic Shamanism understand death, and what happens when we die?
