Xander,
I guess what I was fishing for is the thoughts of people who believe we can interact with them in a meaningful way.
Honestly, I believe that we can interact with the God or Goddess in a meaningful way, and we can interact with spirits aswell. Its an unfortunate fact that those who have an intense desire to "see a ghost" or whatever tend to put up barriers to seeing one.
All of the times I've seen spirits or had a visit from the Lady, (and other stuff that is unexplainable), I've been in a frame of mind of either not thinking about it or just thinking "if something happens it happens, if it doesn't its no big deal". Thinking back its most often happened when I was relaxed and grounded aswell. For instance, the one and only time a spirit has made me really jump was after a particularly calming and successful coven ritual....we'd finished and everyone was mulling about getting out a bit of food etc, and I decided to go to the loo, but on my way a spirit walked past me through a door and I jumped out of my skin ! LOL. I think I saw the ghost because of my relaxed and grounded state, if I had not been in that state I may have sensed *something* but not actually had a visual experience (and how many times does that happen and you put it down to being nothing?).
My advice to you is don't TRY to see something. One big help would be the practise of meditation or the regular use of a crystal ball. Have the attitude that its doing you good anyway so if you see anything or have an experience then its a bonus, but not necessary. Another method is ask the universe, but be sure you mean it. As a male you might be interested in using Runes, and these can help open you up.
About supplicative prayers working - or spells for that matter (there isn't that much difference...), the thing is that they don't always work. One suggestion as to why is that if you pray you are effectively sending out your desire to the universe and you are opening yourself up to recieve. The thing is that there are energies working in the universe which may be stronger than the energy of your desire, and your desire is therefore blocked. A good example of this is the lottery. You might pray for a win and you might *really really* want it, but the energy surrounding the lottery is so strong with so many opposing forces that you're unlikely to win no matter how much you want it. (everyone else is thinking the same thing...! ! )
Just before I started my witchcraft studies I read a book called "manifest your destiny" by Wayne Dyer. It is about the power of meditation techniques to affect your life. He suggests that you cultivate the mental attitude that all you desire is already there waiting for you, you just have to be in a position to recieve it. Therefore you don't need to ask God for money or whatever, you need to bring yourself to a state where prosperity can flow into your life. I think this is a great way of seeing things.
Good luck. One thing I will say is Please don't spend your life searching and searching because noone has all the answers. Life isn't about having wierd experiences and talking to God, life is about living it in every moment. Its about really enjoying and loving the things around you. My father died having searched his entire life for answers to spiritual questions and now I find it good to think of that when I'm tempted to spend too much time with spirituality and not enough time living.
Sirona
