GNOME SPOTTING

A dear friend asked what he should do to see some gnomes, so this is the drug-free version (lmao) of doing it. Before you go further there are a series of rules and differences you should know:

1.- There are many creatures that look like gnomes but really are not. For example, the Duende (literally “goblin” in Spanish) of Latin American folklore is not a spirit but a physical creature, at least judging from videos on Youtube and testimonials. What it might be remains a mystery but it is certainly not the creature you will be keeping an eye out for.

2.- The type of gnome you will be spotting is an elemental spirit, that means they are not solid and belong to a hierarchy that composes our side of reality. If you happen to encounter a creature with a tiny physical body? Just because folklore call it a gnome does not mean it could be something else and not paranormal in the slightest, maybe a cryptid – who knows! :p

3.- Elemental spirits are both manifestations of nature and spirits that support it. This does not mean they are friendly.

4.- There is this rule that you must not speak to an elemental spirit first but rather let it interact with you first. I thought of it as something silly but experience shows that if you talk first, it is a form of submission or an invitation to be lead into their world.

5.- If you are lead into their world you will go through an OBE (Out of Body Experience) which is not recommended without some precautions. Not saying you could get lost or something like that, going back is a matter of wanting it, but the feelings are very close to a disociative episode. Not fun if you are left a schizophrenic mess, even if it is for a little while.

6.- This exercise wholly depends on your ability to remain quiet and still. If you spook easily, if you try to move, you will have to start again. You must behave as if you are watching a movie in a theatre premiere, knowing that what you see is not real but remaining collected and polite.

These are the things you need for this exercise:

1.- A quiet spot in nature where you can sit down uninterrupted for about ten minutes for an hour. Parks would be great if it was not for all the possible disturbances from people, animals and noises. If you are doing this in a secluded area like a forest please do exercise caution, I would not want you to get jumped by a bear or cougar! I have used my own backyard garden, which is very ample and has at least five trees and decorative bushes. The number of plants does not matter as I can reach and pat my neighbor in about eight steps, just that there is enough greenery that you would expect gnomes to wander about.

You can also stare out of a window where there are scenes of nature too if you cannot go there.

2.- We blink every few seconds or so, so it is mandatory you develop a skill to stare at a spot without doing that. This is not fighting your instinct to blink but rather finding a way of looking relaxedly at something, just as the Buddha does, or like any of us do when daydreaming or looking at a campfire.

A trick I use often is choosing a word in a text and look at it until I feel that itch that signals the need for blink, and then I slowly move my eyes across the word as if I am spell-checking, or reading letter by letter. It is a gentle, slow “wobble” of the eyes. That movement allows you to bypass the need for blink.

The goal is not to avoid blinking but to minimize it.

3.- You need to remember how to recall emotion or sensation to proceed. You remember your happiest and saddest moments but those memories are tied to a context, so it is very hard to tell anyone to remember only the emotion without the context. A trick around this is to remember your favorite meal, you will understand then that you can “think of a moment” without context or words.

Well, while you are looking out for gnomes you will be doing this, entering a state of relaxed focus but not so much on your thoughts but the whole scene in front of you. It can be described as being at peace with the moment, with no worries about appointments or things you would have to be doing, merely keeping track of your breathing.

And this is how you do it!

1.- Find the calm spot, sit down comfortably and look at the scene around until you find a point of view you find “just right” to look at. Think of it as the best part of the view that should go into a canvas painting. This is better done at dusk or early at the break of dawn.

2.- Breathe in for five seconds straights, hold that breath for that long and make your exhalation last five seconds or so. Breathe like this until you are calm and has become mechanical.

3.- Gaze straight ahead and remain still. Whenever your thoughts wander focus on the sound of your breathing, as if you need to check it is alright.

About one to five minutes into this state, provided you have minimally blinked, the scene before you will change in color and depth perception. It will seem as if you are looking through stained glass. Do not worry, you can snap out of it any moment you like and as a matter of fact, you should shake your head and start over again, so to get used to this transtition. Technicolor view, static rain (look it up to see an example) will happen too and the changes will come and go a few times, between two and five usually.

This is the most crucial part and happens at a moment where you lose the perception of time, but about ten minutes into being still and observant:

1.- Small silhouettes will start forming in the context of the scenery. For example, if you are looking at a tree, then they will form behind the branches or the trunk, or under the visible roots, in places where it makes sense small and shy humanoids would be peeking out at you. DO NOT TRY TO LOOK AT THEM or you will have to start over again. If you pick one of the tiny figures and try to single out to better check its details, the scene will vanish.

2.- A scene will play out. They will move and go about whatever it is gnomes do in their spare time, most will not realize you are even there and some may be curious and approach you. Whatever happens, and though I can guarantee they will not be hostile to you, do not react to their actions. Just enjoy the moment and smile at them like a grandfather would to his grand kids, a wave of love and emotion will travel back and forth.

3.- If you are talked to, you may talk back, just avoid fast movements or you will snap out of the trance. When you have had enough just shut your eyes, breathe in and slowly stretch. You can leave them a gift of a few pebbles stacked on each other or whisper out a silly joke. Do not leave lit candles or Smokey the Bear will chokeslam you through a glass table, you are warned!

My experience so far is that I did that and took me a good while to pop in and out of the trance, where sight becomes blurry and restructures itself. All I saw was a small, egg-sized shape pop up from a garden pot, sprout arms and prop itself out from the earth. It was literally what a human-shaped root would look, all black, no features nor hands nor feet, but had an infantile charm to it. It walked around and past me singing a tune, and though it did not talk to me and was as big as a can of spray paint? It moved in a gentle way as if not to scare me.

I felt much love and friendship from the little creature, much like what anyone with half a soul would feel at a petting zoo. I remember feeding sardines to a penguin once and I can say this was the same emotion, just two beings who acknowledge each other's presence in a trustful, almost neighbor-like manner. Ever since that happened I feel bad that one day I might have to cut some plants or trees out of my garden.