Whenever friends or family from out of town come to visit, invariably we wind up in our scenic Old Town area. Aside from the quaint and beautiful feel to the vicinity, it also is the most historically significant part of town. Usually the importance of the area is attributed to the buildings and architecture. However, a more lurid side of the city is gaining popularity for the town, as well: ghost tourism.

The principle behind ghost tourism is that people are taken on guided tours of buildings, such as the infamous Stanley Hotel, that are thought to be haunted. Such hauntings are advertised as being either of ghosts of former tenants or owners, or because it was the scene of a crime, such as a murder, where the victims are thought to be stuck.

In recent years government and academic research facilities have begun exploring the impact of Spirituality and the spiritual dimension on the quality of life. One illustrative example of that is a publication by Rutgers University’s Studies in Medical Anthropology department (New Jersey, USA), Sleep Paralysis: Night-mares, Nocebos and the Mind-Body Connection by Shelley R. Adler, in which she has cited and used images obtained from Spiritual Science Research Foundation’s subtle-knowledge department about the causes of sleep paralysis.

One of my co-workers mentioned in late December how the 31st hadn’t even come and gone and already the local stores were putting up their Valentine’s Day displays. No one had time to recover emotionally, let alone financially, from holiday sticker shock, before being reminded that yet again, they had to buy their friends’, family’s and paramours’ love with gifts of wine, chocolate and roses.

With each passing year, I hear the dread in those around me grow at Valentine’s Day and all that it entails. A day that is, in theory, supposed to be all about love, seems to be about nothing but stress. Where to get dinner, what to order, what to wear, what gifts to buy, and so on and so forth. It becomes a production with a questionable return on investment.

I have noticed an interesting phenomenon surrounding Halloween. 364.25 days a year, cobwebs are no good and eyesores. For some of us, they are downright scary (because where there’s a web, there’s a spider). Yet on October 31st, cobwebs are considered decoration and ‘cool’, as opposed to a sign that we’ve gotten lax in our domestic duties.

In fact, Halloween is sort of a get-out-of-jail-free card for many people. The one day a year where women (and men) can get away with cavorting around in their undergarments without getting arrested, when toilet papering houses, throwing eggs, vandalism and violence is almost acceptable. Police are out in force to deter any criminal mischief-making, and often shrug off otherwise reprehensible behavior as ‘Halloween always brings out the crazies’.

Add to this, haunted houses, conducting seances or use of ouija boards in fun and jest, to (pun intended) “get into the spirit of things”.

People have been talking about ‘climate change’ for a while now, from the record-breaking droughts in Texas, to the alarming intensity of typhoons and hurricanes all across the globe, to the overwhelming precipitation the world over.

However, another type of climate change seems to be taking place. It became more pronounced in early 2011 with the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, but has gained momentum and strength in the last couple of months elsewhere. I speak of course, about the “Occupy” movements and “World Revolution Day” spanning the globe.

I know when I see the people around me, there does seem to be a general sense of malaise and unhappiness. This got me wondering–if the protesters on Wall Street and all over got what they asked for, would that be it? Would everyone go home and live happily ever after?

This Halloween, we report on one other malpractice observed during the festival – that of denigrating religious figures, God or deities. In New York City, supermodel Heidi Klum dressed up in a costume resembling the Hindu Goddess Kali. This type of stunt displays disrespect towards the aspect of the God principle represented through that form, especially when it is done to attract public attention. A basic law of spiritual science states that ‘The word, touch, form, taste, smell and its related energy coexist’. This means where the form of God is present such as in the form of deity Kali, God’s attendant divine energy is also present. Hence that form is something to be revered, rather than used for fun, entertainment or publicity.