Ouija Board - The Ultimate Game

For years and years I longed to own a Ouija Board, but was too chicken to buy one. I had the idea it was dangerous, a doorway to Demons and God Knew What Else. Yet, having grown up with an amazing mother, a truly gifted Gaelic with the honest to goodness ability to make 'the table rise', I was already hooked on spiritualism from the get go. And don't think we were not an honest, God fearing family. We attended church, I attended study and was later confirmed at age 12. We did not take the Lord's name in vain, etc.

But my mother was one of those intelligent, creative individuals who could see beyond the dogma, and having a true Scots background, she was naturally gifted and saw no harm in these gifts. We would go to Cassadaga, Fla - where she sought out the psychics. See, she had lost a son to cancer - he was barely 1o years old at the time - and, with later insight, I realized many of her efforts stemmed from a need to contact her beloved child.

In other words, matters of both God and the inner psychic were the norm in my youthful world. I, too, was a gifted child with a high IQ that landed me in a program called VIS - for Very Intelligent Students. I was also artistic, creative and won several awards before finishing school. I, too, harbored a desire to connect with 'something', but I also harbored a deep fear of devils and demons, a fear that took me decades to lay to rest.

Nonetheless, the time finally came when I got up my nerve and purchased my first (!) Ouija or Spirit Board. We were all very careful to protect ourselves within the White Light, to pray before and after said use, and to scrupulously avoid any accidental or deliberate interference with the planchette.

Well, I hadn't had my board a month before my superstitions reared their ugly head and I pitched the game into the trash. What a relief to get rid of it, as if I had somehow nailed a 'out to lunch' sign on the front door to discourage Satan. But in the meantime I began experimenting with the pendulum, which was interesting but not nearly as quick nor precise as using the Ouija. It was hopeless, and before too long I had purchased my second board. My curiosity was the stronger emotion, and those superstitious fears simply had to take a back seat.

I was so curious about everything, and I wanted to experience as much as I could first hand. But as I developed my ability to concentrate, to let go and focus at the same time, things really took off and I became scared all over again. There went board number 2.

With the acquisition of Ouija Board 3 (Parker Bros. would have loved my kind!), I was determined not to cave in, but rather conducted as much research as I possibly could into the whys and hows of the spirit board. I learned they've been around, in one form or another, since ancient times. I also learned that they have been used to help brain-damaged, mentally disabled persons communicate in ways they are not verbally able to do. It would seem that the spirit board sort of 'evens out the playing field' in terms of brain hemisphere dominance, and for most users it is a form of expression for the subconscious, right brain mind.

Eventually, I settled down, began note-taking in earnest, and came away with a far greater concept of how the psyche of man operates. I even went on to purchase a special board, a large round heavy thing, rich with symbols and icons, which of course were much easier for my right brain to answer with. Amazing the things one learns about oneself.

So, once I got over the idiotic notion that a demon comes pre-packed with every spirit board (can't you just picture that at Quality Control - a line worker getting his butt chewed for missing the demon in board #1533901A?) - I eventually was able to have the courage to experiment on my own, without a partner, although the movements came slower at first, and I had to learn to let go, to allow my subconscious a free hand in the most precise way.

I think the worst hurdle, the Biggie with a Capital B, the hurdle that most exacerbates fear and superstition in nearly all users of the talking spirit board - is that you always (so it seems) first encounter your subconscious and all those fears, emotions, self loathing, guilts and anything else of an emotionally suppressed nature. After all, this is your subconscious getting to have the floor, and it is darn well going to do so. Because here is the important thing to understand - the subconscious often acts like a mirror, reflecting self back to self. If you fear demons, you can skippy well bet you are going to encounter them, at least until you get over such fears. And as such, the mirror effect of the subconscious freed by such tools as the Ouija Board, are an absolutely fantastic method for self growth and understanding, a cleansing shower for the psyche, but only if you can face your fears with a sane, clear head on your shoulders. Otherwise it's too easy to get drawn in to an endless game of self reflecting self reflecting self - without any resolution, but with plenty of distress. I recommend keeping a good sense of humor on hand, as well. Love and forgiveness for self and all others, doesn't hurt either.

Love and laughter will conquer most demons, be they real or imagined. And best to ignore any that should remain.