Dear Erin,

I think I have a ghost. I felt someone pushing their thumbs onto my eyes in the middle of the night. Scared the bejeezes out of me.

Nothing like this has ever happened before and I'm worried it will visit my 7 and 12 year-old daughters next. What can I do to get rid of it?

Pippa

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Hi Pippa,

From the sounds of it, you just might have a poltergeist. Not the kind of that will possess your porcelain clown and suck poor little Carole Anne through a portal the TV set, but one that's a garden-variety symptom of puberty.

In researching your question, I discovered that many parents with children your age have reported the sudden appearance of ghosts in homes that have never been prone to paranormal activity. Researchers attribute this phenomenon to the presence of poltergeists – disruptive, non-physical entities that feed on the turbulent emotions of adolescent children.

They also agree that poltergeists aren't actual ghosts, but rather, physical manifestations of typical teenage angst. So basically, when your kids come home from a mean girl day at middle school, it's your house that has the afternoon snack... or in your case, the midnight munchies.

But how is that even possible?

Einstein proved that everything is energy. Thanks to his predecessor Newton, we know that energy is neither created nor destroyed. And just like the energies of light and sound, the energy of our thoughts (for better or for worse) travel into infinity.

We also know that all energy exists in one of two forms: finite (limited energy) or infinite (unlimited energy). Infinite energy comes from Source, God, the Universe, or whatever you happen to call it. Finite energy, by comparison has no source, so it needs to draw off the energy of others in order to maintain its momentum.

Some finite energy examples include negative or fearful thought patterns, physical acts of war and the poltergeist that was poking on your eyelids while you were sleeping.

While our infinite thoughts have a consistent, positive energy source to draw upon, our limited thoughts express themselves in bursts of negativity and then linger dormant until there's an opportunity to feed off energy that vibrates at a similar frequency. And nothing feeds finite energy like the frequency of teenage melodrama.

As children, our connection to Source is strong because we have limited exposure to Earth's finite energies. We are happy, playful, imaginative beings who vibrate at a high frequency. Because of this, we tend to attract non-physical entities that are also of infinite energy.

In the first year after the birth of a child, many of my clients have reported the phenomenon of sensing, hearing or smelling the presence of their loved ones who have passed. One friend even sent video footage of a white orb that appeared on her daughter's baby monitor and wondered if it might possibly be the energy of her late mother. (Big yes to that!)

Pippa, you might not be able to get rid of your poltergeist, but you can take away its Scooby snacks by turning down the volume on all the Teenage Wasteland vibes that are flying around your house and resetting your tuner to that infinite, Source energy from whence we all came.

Here's an invocation I use almost every day that helps neutralize the rowdy energies I might encounter:

"We come in light and love. We come in joy and play. Anyone who wants to join us in light, love, joy and play is welcome. If you've had a bad day, a bad week, a bad month, a bad life, you are welcome to observe, but we respectfully request that you remain neutral. Should you change your mind and decide to join us in light, love and positivity, you are always welcome."

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to send the poltergeist "into the light" in order to create peace in your home. You just need to set boundaries and let the energies know that they only have your permission to participate in ways that are loving, light and joyful.

You might find this invocation most helpful on those mornings when your kids wake up with a case of the Mondays and whenever they come home from school. (Also, lighting a candle or smudging sage can help cut loose some of those nasty little klingons that have attached themselves to their clothes and book bags.)

Thanks for your letter, Pippa. Sending light, love and joy to you!