A Medium's Guide to Soul Harboring

As mediums and psychics involved in paranormal investigations, cases we become involved with can run the gambit from very peaceful and uneventful, to leaving us completely drained at the end. With some of the more draining cases, there is a phenomena which is somewhat rare to encounter, and it's nature can vary greatly. What I'm referring to are cases involving soul harboring. If you are unfamiliar with the term, soul harboring is when multiple spirits are present at a location, but there is one stronger entity holding the others there. I'd like to give a brief overview and examples of the many reasons soul harboring occurs, as well as solution strategies from a medium's standpoint.

At times these instances have sinister leanings, where one entity may intimidate, torment, and overpower another, keeping them trapped at a location. It's important to remember that the personality and demeanor of someone will not change after death, especially when remaining earthbound. If one was a sadistic and controlling person in life, so will they be in death. Most often the angry entity refuses to move on to the next state of being out of fear of judgment, and rather than be alone, he or she selfishly harbors other spirits. There is truth in the saying "misery loves company." Although this is very rare, when it comes to soul harboring, this is a worst case scenario. The best solution to this type of case is to discover and work with the spirits he or she is harboring first and get them to move on, but you have to be ready for resistance. Sometimes the spirits in which the angry entity is harboring are not even from the same time period or have any relation in life. But once the harbored spirits are helped to move on, the now alone entity can be dealt with and either helped to move on, or removed by spiritual methods.

In contrast, there are instances in which the dominant entity is not negative or malevolent at all. These spirits usually have strong but benign personalities, and often had some kind of leadership role in life with the spirits it is harboring. Instead of trapping souls against their will, the stronger entity is simply influencing and convincing them to stay, often out of a sense of loyalty or duty. A haunted ship could be used as a prime example of this type of situation. The soul of a commanding officer keeps his crew with him, not by force but influence. Though the nature of this example is seemingly benign, it cannot be ignored that these others souls would have likely moved on if not for the attraction to the harboring spirit. For this case, it is a good idea to try and work with the dominant energy first. If you can pursued he or she move on, then the subordinate spirits are likely to follow suit. Trying to work with the harbored spirits first can incite anger and make the situation similar to a sinister cases, so a little patience and caution is needed.

Yet another soul harboring example is what I call an innocent harboring. These are the instances of parent and child (or children), and most often involves confusion in the involved souls. The spirit of the parent will not let go of their child, leaving them both trapped on the earth plane. Sometimes this is a case of not fully understanding or accepting that they are no longer alive, so clinging onto their child is completely understandable. But unwittingly, the spirit of the parent is harboring their child, and letting go will help them both to move on. In this case, we should try and gain the trust of the parent and convince them a better place is waiting for her and the child. With a spirit highly confused or unwilling to accept death, this can be difficult and take some time.

I hope these examples help to give a better understanding to this rare but serious phenomena we may encounter. No matter how rare, being prepared and having at least a basic understanding of any type of situation you may find yourself in is of extreme importance. As mediums, our role in paranormal investigating is twofold. Providing information to help the investigation, and more importantly to help spirits. Regardless of the understanding the technical side has for what we do, it is our duty to use our gifts to help others, living or deceased.