Dear Julia:

I've had recurring nightmares about spiders for a couple of years, and now I have full-blown arachnophobia. I've gotten really paranoid. I dream about spiders and often feel like something is creeping on my skin, especially on the back of my neck. When I brush at it, nothing is there. I can't go to sleep at night until I've checked all corners of the room for spiders. While I want to be rid of this phobia, what I'd like even more is to know that I'm not crazy. I'm hoping there is some sort of spiritual explanation for my experiences.
- Sam

Dear Sam:

I believe there is a spiritual element to your experiences, but before we dive into the far out subject of astral spiders and snakes, let's explore phobias in general.

Some primal fears like the fear of falling are hard-wired into our DNA, as they are designed to help us survive here on Earth. Primal fears are universal.

Other fears are simply common because evolution favored people who had those fears. For example, people who feared spiders and snakes would have been far less likely to be the victims of poisonous critters. Thus they would have survived to have offspring and pass on their genetic quirks to future generations.

Other phobias, such as the very common fear of public speaking, are probably rooted more in our own personal experiences. Obviously, we aren't born with the fear of speaking in front of an audience; one has only to study the uninhibited performance style of toddlers to realize that we aren't born self-conscious. Most likely, we develop fears of things like public speaking via harrowing emotional experiences in public school.

Of course, all phobias can be rooted in our past experiences, both in this life and past lives. For example, while all people have a fear of falling, we may have an extreme phobia about it if we fell to our death in a past life. I've counseled a number of people who had incapacitating phobias that were found to be rooted in past lives.

One woman who was terrified of driving had died in a car crash in her most recent past life. In that lifetime, she was young and everything was going her way when her life abruptly ended. Another woman in her late twenties feared moving out of her parents' house and living alone. Spirit showed me a past life in which she had left her home to go on a long journey, and returned to find her family completely wiped out by invaders.

Many times we actually learn to have phobias about certain things from our parents. If when you were a small child, your mother screamed and panicked every time she saw a spider, you probably learned to be terrified of spiders yourself.

As for why phobias seem to develop out of the blue, there are always triggers, but sometimes it's hard to determine what those triggers are. For a phobia rooted in a past life, anything connected to that past life that comes up in this one could trigger the activation of the phobia.

Let's say that in a past life, you were bitten by a poisonous spider and died. Let's also say that in that past life, you were married to Ann. Should you meet Ann again in this lifetime, your fear of spiders could suddenly kick in. In fact, all sorts of energies and issues from the past life you spent with Ann could be activated when you meet her again. Further, anything connected with that past life, or which reminds you of that past life, could trigger the phobia.

As for astral spiders and snakes, it does seem that there are critters in the astral that resemble earthly spiders and snakes, for many astral travelers have encountered these beings.

Some believe that astral critters are merely similar in nature to spiders and snakes. Some astral travelers have seen astral spiders while awake, and in studying them, noted that they are not identical to physical spiders, but more like black blobs with tentacles. People who trip on psychedlics often see similar creatures.

Others suggest that the energy of these critters is similar to spiders and snakes, and it is our minds that interpret their energy and give them the visual appearance of spiders. This does not mean they're benevolent; they probably present the same level of "danger" in the astral that a regular spider would present to us here in the physical (which in the case of most spiders, is really next to nothing.)

Even others suggest that lower astral entities shape shift to evoke certain reactions in us. If you already had a spider phobia and a lower astral wanted to scare you in order to access your energy and feed off your fear, it might read the fears in your subconscious, and present itself as a monstrous spider. While you may not be consciously aware of the presence of such an entity, you might find yourself feeling nervous or creeped out, and thinking endlessly about spiders to the point of looking around for them in physical reality.

Since the more you react, the more energy they have to feed on, one of the best ways to get rid of astral parasites is to conquer our fear of them. By studying the nature of astral reality, we can learn how to deal with such matters. Then wisdom, competence and understanding replace fear, and we are able to respond to astral entities calmly. Eventually, if we can send these beings love and compassion, it's like shining a blindingly bright light on a spider - it sends them scurrying away. If we can laugh them off, it diffuses their power over us, and they can't affect us.

While you're shedding your fears, you can take some practical measures. People who astral project a lot have noticed that keeping things bright and clean really helps. When they don't clean for a while, they notice more lower astrals creeping in. In fact, anything you would do to clear your space of ordinary pests will help here.

Clean your space thoroughly. Wash your bedding regularly and shower before you go to bed. Keep the energy moving. Sweep the corners of the room, clear away clutter, and don't let cobwebs collect. Both ordinary and astral spiders like to hide in dark corners, so keep things bright.

It's also important to sweep the corners of your mind on a regular basis. Watch for dark thoughts, negativity, worries and fears. Be especially on the lookout for thoughts that shock or surprise you, or things you can't believe you are actually thinking. These are often input by astral entities that are trying to lower your vibration. By thinking bright, positive, happy thoughts, your vibration will remain high, and lower astral won't be able to penetrate your aura.

- Julia

For the latest column, check out this week's edition of Kajama.

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