Congratulations! You're a paranormal enthusiast, investigator, empath, sensitive or psychic. You do what I do! Welcome to my world. Only my world is or should I say "was" in the closet. If you know me you can appreciate my normalcy, my only problem is wondering if anyone besides my team mates and best friend will love my weirdness too. You'd think by age 47 I would've already learned to love me for me and forget the rest. The truth is it's hard for many to talk about your paranormal hobby. Especially if you are the slightest bit apprehensive or fearful of judgment. It's not the typical hobby to say the least and that in itself can make for strange discussion at the family cookout. Imagine your sister-in-law Suzy is all excited about her pottery class and your cousin Melanie just improved her handicap on the golf course. What do have you say? "Well, last night I communicated with a dead lady in the basement of an asylum?
There are others that are sure, confident and wear their paranormal heart on their sleeve. They live it out loud and their openness and boldness about their craft inspires me. Hopefully soon this is where I'll be. Right now I'm in the process of sharing more on facebook about what I do. Unfortunately there are people that have friends, or family that just don't get it. I also noticed I'm self conscious of what others think which increases my anxiety about discussing the paranormal with family and friends.
It's been roughly six years now that I've been interested in the investigative side of the paranormal world. I've always had a love of all things scary including books, movies, mysteries, NDE (near death experience) haunted homes and historic places. I'm finding this is a commonality amongst people in the paranormal field. It's impressive that such a massive of people can be so similar yet from totally different areas of the world and from all walks of life. Regardless, I've found my tribe.
In the beginning, investigating was just another facet of myself but lately after becoming a Co-Founder of Detroit Rock City Paranormal it's becoming less of a facet and more of an alter ego. Mom, homemaker, business owner by day, paranormal sleuth, author and team leader by night. My husband also recently has become involved over the last year. He's primarily a healthy skeptic but is discovering new unexplainable occurrences everytime we venture out somewhere new. Spending this time with him, and making new exciting discoveries has led to some adventurous stories we can tell our grandkids one day. Investigating with him has been an advantage since he's really into it. It's probably tough when your family, friends or even your spouse doesn't understand your hobby.
But back to the solitude of what we do. So how do you bring up this unique hobby to family and friends? How do you get them to understand and remain non-judgmental about what you do? It can be tough, especially when they're non-believers. If you're self-conscious like me putting it out there is a start. Show off those pictures of the beautiful historic places we get to visit and the awesome people we have a blast with while there. I find talking about our team mates and the friendships we've made is a good ice breaker. Also, informing people about the giving side of the hobby always makes for nice discussion. Many teams do adult walks with the public which raise money to preserve historical buildings. The bottom line is if these people love you as who you are then they should respect your hobby too.
How exactly do you open up about the topic? If you're nervous just ease into opening the discussion. There's no need to jump right into the eerie, bizarre or maccabe side of things. Discuss locations or paranormal events you've been a part of. You can also wait for them to ask you the questions about "your weekend" or "what you've been up to lately." If they don't ask, you can always hint to them about your hobby and ask them what they think. Let them know you have answers if they have any questions about the deeper side of investigating or the spiritual side of the paranormal. Being accurate about your terminology, locations, equipment and research will show your friends and family that there's a lot more to paranormal investigating than what they imagined. It doesn't hurt to throw in some funnny stories. Investigating always leads to some crazy fun times.
What if you are rejected? There are always going to be people who think paranormal investigating is taboo, a farce or just uncomfortable and that's fine. Let them be. You need to understand that you only need to please yourself. You have found a great past-time and it doesn't hurt anyone. Surveys report that half of all people believe in the paranormal and that puts us in pretty good company. Some reknowned scientists have reported believing in the paranormal.
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Always remember we live in a wonderful world of accepting people especially in the paranormal scene. There are thousands of us sharing this common thread that weaves a colorful tapestry in this very unordinary skill. I've made friends across the US in Australia and the UK. We are all lucky to have found each other. Our common bond is paraunity. We are here for each other. I'm so proud of this part of my life. Sure, I could've had a normal hobby but what fun would that be? So to everyone working on opening up to friends, family and co-workers I say, "Go for it." And for those who choose to wait yet that decision is respected. In my opinion, there's never been a more fascinating, exciting and adventurous hobby I could be a part of, and for me "my opinion" of what I do for a hobby, is what matters.
I hope this article will help open up the dialogue between family and friends about the paranormal world. As always, we would love to hear your questions or comments. If you like what you've read today please click the "♡" below.
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