Getting Help From Local Spirits

If you are a frequent traveler to foreign lands, then you would agree with me that it is very difficult and at time traumatic to fit into a local environment. Not only that you would need to get accustom to local languages, the food and spiritual issues may be amongst some of your worst nightmares.

 

It would not be difficult to understand if people and language of a place can trouble you; but how do ‘spirits’ fit into this context? Well, many of people out there are not really ‘spiritually clean’, many folks have good brothers and sisters attached. So, if the spirits possessing the body of your foreign boss don’t like you, they will make your boss feel agitated when you are facing your boss.

 

In order to make my stay in a foreign land a little smoother, I would normally visit the nearest earth lord shrine to pray upon touchdown whenever possible before checking in hotel. In many parts of Southeast Asia, you couldn’t miss the small shrines setup beside a hotel, in a village or at crossroad junctions. There is no need for elaborate rituals or any offerings if my stay is short, say 2~3 days. So, I normally just hold my hands in prayer’s position and just murmur a few words such as:

 

“I am paying my respect to you as you are the local host; please help me to fit in so that my work can be completed swiftly.”

 

I can tell you that 9 times out of 10, if you just spend a couple of minutes at the beginning; you will enjoy the rest of your stay at the place.

 

What happens if there is no small shrines out there, it may be difficult to find a place of worship or if the local customs don’t allow the worship of spirits; then just use your intuition and find a ‘power spot’ and pray. That too will work fine.

 

When I like the place and would like to have a second chance of visiting, I would leave a present to the local spirits: a glass of whiskey or some flowers. After I have done so, believe it or not; I would return to that place though it may take a while.

 

I think, the worst thing one can do at a new foreign land, is to perform boundary protection rituals or any exorcism rituals to chase away spirits. For once you have started these sorts of things, then you will feel isolated and unwelcomed; and that you may not be able to enjoy the help of local spirits.

 

Of course, the foreign land here does not necessary mean going abroad; people staying in Penang may find he/she be the odd man’s out in Kuala Lumpur. The working cultures of both places are quite different though they are in the same country. Believe it!