This post was inspired by Question #28 from this list.

When I was in junior high school, I attended an overnight event at my school. I think it was some sort of fundraiser. One of the other students decided to bring a ouija board. I got curious and decided to play along. At the time, I thought it was silly, harmless fun. I didn’t really believe we were talking with spirits (but thought it would be cool if I turned out to be wrong about that). I think the teachers in attendance were mostly amuses and perhaps a little concerned that it might get out of hand or cause trouble. But for the mot part, I think we all found it silly fun with just a hint of “what if” in the back of our minds.

These days, I’m not inclined to use a ouija board. If I have need to talk with spirits, I tend to prefer to go to them on their turf. Or I prefer to communicate more directly as a medium or even attend a seance.

One of the big issues I see with the ouija board — and people’s fascination with “talking to ghosts” is that it’s treated like a game. Too many people just decide to see what ghost shows up and start asking them random questions. I often wonder if the average spirit finds this as annoying as I might find random people stopping me on the street or calling me at random “just to see what happens.”

It wasn’t until I started hanging out with my friends Belinda, Michele (may she rest in peace), and Char that I got an appreciation for mediumship. I attended and participated in seances that they conducted and saw how messages from a loved one can be helpful and healing. Of course, I also appreciated that they — especially Char — reminded people that death doesn’t necessarily turn someone into an enlightened soul, and discretion and discernment must be utilized when dealing with messages from beyond.

But mostly, I still like to leave those on the other side of death alone unless I have a compelling reason to speak with them.