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GHOST Popular term for supposed apparition of the dead, [Psychical researchers tend to use the term apparition]. Ghosts are often depicted as resembling human form and described as frog like, misty, silver, transparent and the like. They can be visible but they can make their presence felt with strange noises, smells, and cold air, the switching of lights on and off and by movement of objects.

The ancient meaning of the term ghost typically refers to the disembodied soul, which after death is thought to travel to the underworld or afterlife. Beliefs vary as to what happens to the soul after death but virtually every culture has believe at some point that the ghost can return to the world of the living and when they return they can have either good or bad intent.

In the west, those who believe in ghosts sometimes hold that they are the souls of those who cannot find peace in death or realise they are dead, and so they longer on earth. Their inability to find peace is often explained as a need to deal with unfinished business, to deliver advice or information, to protect or stay close to loved ones or simply to re-enact death. In some cases the unfinished business involves a victim seeking justice or revenge after death. The ghosts of criminals are sometimes thought to linger to avoid purgatory, hell or limbo.

In Asian cultures [such as china] many people believe in reincarnation and ghosts are thought to be souls that refuse to be reborn because they have unfinished business, similar to those in Western belief.

Although there are reports of appearances during the day, the majority seem to appear at night. Its possible that a person is more sensitive to clairvoyance when relax or asleep at night - many ghosts also appear during reams. However, some believe that ghosts reported to have been seen at night when a person is wide-awake may actually be hallucinations that occur when they are drifting off to sleep.

Frederick Myers, one of the founders of the Society for Psychical research in London, believed that ghosts were 'manifestations of persistent personal energy, or an indication that some kind of force is being exercised after death which is in some way connected, with a person previously known on earth. Myers believed that ghosts were projections of consciousness without a conscious identity, but more recent research has argued that ghost may possess some kind of awareness.

Ghost investigators have found that in the majority of cases there are natural explanations for sightings, but this still leaves a tiny number - perhaps a small as 2 per cent - that just cant be explained naturally, however skeptical or unconvinced the investigator. There is as yet no definitive answer as to whether ghosts are genuine or figments of the imagination, or if they have personality or are flashbacks of the past.

GNOSTICISM From the Greek ghosts meaning 'known'; Gnosticism was a school of mysticism that flourished in the early years of Christianity. It was based on the idea that it was the search for hidden spiritual knowledge rather than faith or conduct that could save a person.

Gnostic sects varied in their approach to esoteric truth; some focused on techniques like astrology or numerology, while others concentrated on the secret teachings of Jesus. All seem to have been influenced by the controversial belief that God has a dual nature - that is both masculine and feminine - and his feminine counterpart takes the form of Sophia, the divine wisdom.

Gnostic practice was forbidden by orthodox Christianity but the movement never lost its influence and survived in the followers of Kabbalah, and in secret societies such as the Rosicrucian's and Freemasonry. Then, in 1945 the 'Gnostic Gospels' were discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. The discovery confirmed that Gnosticism was a part of early Christian practice and that many gospels has been suppressed by later Church factions. As a result there has been a revival of interest in Gnostic Christian traditions.

Another significant influence on the revival of Gnosticism was the work of pro-Gnostic writers and thinkers such as existentialist Hans Jonas and historian Kurt Randolph. Perhaps the most influential was psychiatrist Carl Jung who found in early Gnostic through a prototype for depth psychology. He believed that Christianity had suffered as a result of the suppression of Gnostic ideas and that alchemy might be a way to reintroduce them to a modern public.

HOLY GRAIL The Holy Grail is thought to be the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper and for that reason it is considered a symbol of perfection and virtue by Christians. As a pagan motif, the Grail is the cup of healing and new life, which symbolises the body of the Goddess. In esoteric traditions the Grail is believed to be a point of contact with both the spiritual and the supernatural realm. It is said to possess magical powers of healing and communion with the divine force. In alchemy the grail is likened to gold, the philosophers stone that represents apprehension of the divine. According to tradition the grail can only be seen by those who have a reached certain level of spiritual awareness. It is not known whether such an object ever existed or still exists.

There are various versions of the Grail legends. One of the most well known suggest that one of Jesus' followers, Joseph of Arimathea, supposedly brought the Grail to Britain and hid it somewhere in the vicinity of Glastonbury Tor. In another Joseph passed the Grail to Bron, his sisters husband, and it is eventually housed in a temple on Munsalvaesche, the mountain of salvation, where it is guarded by an order of Grail knights. The Grail keeper, who is known as the Fisher King, is wounded and as a result the kingdom becomes a wasterland that can only be restored when the Kings health is restored. This sets the scene for the legendary quests for the Holy Grail by Kind Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Early origins of the Grail legends can also be found in the ancient and universal feminine image of a cup as a symbol of power, rebirth and inspiration, but this is complicated by the fact that the Grail sometimes appears as a dish, a womb, a cauldron and a stone.

Whatever the source of the legend, the real importance of the Holy Grails lies in its mysterious power to fascinate the human mind. Psychiatrist Carl Jung said that the story of the Holy Grail represents a search for meaning and the inner self, seen in this light there can be no doubt that the quest for the Holy Grail is psychically very much alive today.

GROUNDING The terms used to describe reconnecting wit ones sense of self and the physical world after psychic development.

Grounding is a way to get rid of the disconnected or spaced-out feelings that sometimes occurs with meditation or visualistion work., Experts in the psychic development field believe it is vitally important after any meditation or visualisation exercise to return to daily life and reconnect with the physical world. This can be done with simple activities, such a yawning and stretching, making a cup of tea, eating a light snack, writing in a journal or anything that helps the body and mind focus on the physical rather than the spiritual or mystical.

GUIDE Term used to refer to inner guidance that can help a person discover wisdom and/or psychic guidance and assistance from inside him or herself.

The term also refers to spirit guides. Spirit guides are thought to be angels, fairies, ghosts or spirits whose function is to help and guide people on their spiritual path. In contrast to intuitive guidance, help from a spirit guide is thought come from an outside source, although some people think that their spirit guide is somehow connected to their intuition.

GUIDED IMAGERY This idea that a person can improve their health and their life by imagining it in more positive terms. Guided imagery is a term used to refer to a kind of directed daydreaming, creative visualisation, hypnosis or meditation which allows a person to enter a state in which they can picture and experience images that help to heal or motivate them. For example a cancer patient may picture army tanks or arrows shooting down cancer cells. In other words the imagination is used in a directed way to help achieve goals.

Imagery has long been considered a healing tool in virtually all of the world's cultures. For example, Navajo Indians practice an elaborate form of imagery that encourages a sick person to 'see' himself as healthy. The Egyptians and ancient Greeks believed that images released spirits in the brain that aroused the heart and other parts of the body.

In the last 1960's guided imagery came to public attention with encouraging reports from oncologist O Carl Simonton of unexpected longevity in cancer patients following the use of imagery and visualisation to stimulate immune response. Although Simonton's work created controversy in medicine, it wasn't until the late 1980's, with the development of psychoneuroimmunology as a field of study, that researchers began to research the effects of the mind on physiology and healing in earnest.

While this research is just beginning, Simonton's early hypothesis that people can stimulate their immune response through imagery has been validated. Study after study shows that when performed correctly guided imagery can help lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and depression, boost the immune system, ease physical pain and nausea during chemotherapy, reduce stress, balance hormones, speed recovery from cuts, burns, fractures and surgery and lower allergic responses. It also improve performance in sport and business, as well as learning.

Today guided imagery is a term variously used to describe a range of techniques from simple visualisation and direct imagery-based suggestion through metaphor and storytelling. In medicine guided imagery is used to help teach psychophysiologic relaxation to relive symptoms, to stimulate healing responses in the body and to help people tolerate procedures and treatments more easily.

In addition to using thoughts and images, guided imagery also involves imagining how things sound, feel, taste and smell. It is thought that because sensory input is how the mind takes in information, guided imagery goes straight to the unconscious mind. It is particularly powerful when it involves emotions, because emotions also by-pass words and logic and go straight to the unconscious. In addition, emotions carry a history with them that interacts with the image. For example, if you imagine you are on a happy holiday with people you love, your body re-expereinces the same joyful physical response.

Some people prefer to use imagery created by someone else, and a person (or a tape recording of the person) talks them thorough the visualisation, while others prefer to make up their own. Whatever method is used, the most important thing is to relax and let your imagination work. Imagery, whether guided or not, is most effective when it encourages someone to imagine with all their senses. See also Pathworking.

Sample guided imagery exercise to reduce stress

To begin, sit or lie down in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Once you feel relaxed enough, begin to imagine a scene, object or place that is beautiful and relaxing to you. Imagine every aspect of the scene, involving all of your senses. For example, if you visualise a waterfall on a mountain, imagine first what this looks like: the rushing water, the stream flowing from it, the size and height of the trees all around, the sky above and the sun filtering through the branches, and so on.

Then imagine how this place would smell - damp and musty or fragrant pine. Next listen for the sounds you would hear if you were there: the water rushing over rocks, the the wind rising and then quieting down, birds singing. How does the ground feel beneath your feet? Is it rocky and rough, or soft and smooth from pine needles or moss? Imagine chewing on a blade of grass, or taking a long, cool drink from the waterfall. How do they taste?

As you become fully involved in your imagery, your body will relax and problems and worries will begin to melt away. To encourage this relaxation to occur, you can punctuate the images with positive affirmations, such as 'I am letting go of tension' or 'I feel calm and relaxed'.

GUT FEELINGS is the term used to describe an intuitive reaction or feeling about people, places or situations, for example, you walk into a room and feel uneasy, or you meet someone new and feel a warm glow.

The term 'gut feeling' isn't accidental. The area around the stomach has always been considered important in the Eastern system of chakras. Now in the West it has gained new-found importance as scientists have discovered that the body has a second primitive 'brain' in the layers of tissue lining the stomach, small intestine and colon. It is actually a network of neurons, neurotransmitters and proteins called the enteric nervous system.

The enteric nervous system and its interaction with the brain in the head are so complex that it is a field of study in its own right, called gastroenterology. Experts in the field have suggested that once animals had a primitive brain in their gut because their efforts for survival were based on food. As these animals developed, neural pathways out of the gut extended to a newer brain in the head, used for other needs such as memory and sex. Eventually the connection between the two brains shrunk to a single nerve, called the vagus nerve.

This primitive brain is deeply connected to our survival instincts and may explain why we sometimes get unexplained, intense feelings about people, places and situations - even when it may pertain to areas of our lives that are not life-or-death situations, such as jobs and relationships with other people.

Psychics believe that when we talk about instinct, gut feelings, intuition, hunches, vibes and so on what we are really referring to is one distinct area of psychic awareness, the skill of clairsentience. Clairsentience is the ability to get intuitive insight from information through your sense of touch, or feeling what is around you. It's possibly the most common of psychic abilities, yet it is the least recognised and acknowledged.