So last week I had a really strange dream. I had a dream that I was dead, nothing but pure spirit, but instead of staying on the other side I brokered a deal – a deal with the PTB (Powers That Be) and another soul that was tired of living in human form. The deal that was made? I opted to become a “walk-in.” This is where I imagine the confused look on your face as you think:
“What the hell is a walk-in?”
It’s a rather simple and highly debated concept that dates back centuries. There are mentions of walk-ins across all cultures and religions and the concept is frequently referenced in pop culture (such as The X-Files, Quantum Leap, The Ghost Whisperer and Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series just to name a few). So what is it? It’s simple, really. A walk-in is a soul that has made an agreement with a body’s current inhabitant to take over said body. One soul walks out of the body while the other walks in. Remember the show Quantum Leap? Yeah…it’s sort of like that. This arrangement can be either temporary or permanent…it depends on the agreement that is made between the souls.
So it’s the same as possession, right?
Nope. Possession is when the body is occupied against its will by another being or spirit. Walk-ins (also called star seeds and wanderers) and walk-outs voluntarily make the swap. Neither side is forced into the situation. Both parties are 100% willing.
Why the hell would they want to do that?
The commonly held belief is that the walk-out no longer wishes to remain here in the physical either because of trauma (be it emotional or physical) or because they have completed their soul’s purpose and are ready to move on to a new experience. The walk-ins typically have goals and experiences that they didn’t complete in their lifetime and are eager to “finish” their mission. All that being said I’m sure that, as with most things in this universe, the reasons are many and varied.
What is the walk-in experience?
While walk-ins do retain the memories of the body’s first occupant, they often report a sense of emotional detachment from those memories. They often feel disoriented by their surroundings and disconnected from the people in their life. People close to walk-ins often say their loved one’s behavior and tastes change seemingly overnight. Check out these interesting interviews with walk-ins Faith Ranoli and Robert Young to get the words straight from the horses’ mouths.
Naturally there are a number of mental health professionals who feel the walk-in “experience” is nothing more than attention seeking behavior taken to the extreme, a way to deal with distress when they are unable to articulate their experience. Personally, I never say anything is impossible. Do I 100% believe that walk-ins exist? I have, admittedly, experienced many strange things in my life – things that others would claim were impossible. So while I’m certainly open to believing, as of right now I find I’m on the fence. I do find the concept fascinating and the stories told by walk-ins are most certainly compelling. What do you think? Are walk-ins real or merely a coping mechanism of a distressed mind?
Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick
image credits: | like on a palm of a hand by Katarina Stefanovic | Belle’s Dream by Rosie Kernohan | I Love October by D. Sharon Pruitt | Untitled by Cari Ann Wayman |
