We probably all know parapsychological or metaphysical viewpoints on ghosts and spirits, as well as our personal ones, but what about beliefs in other cultures, such as the Native Americans? Or the Australian Aborigines?

The Western mindset usually synonymizes "ghosts" and "spirits", with no real distinction between the two. In Native American culture, however, there is a clear difference between them. Whereas spirits are held in high regard, being ancestral souls, ghosts are viewed very negatively. They believe that "spirit" is all around us, within each living thing, and they call upon the ancestral spirits to help guide them and for knowledge and insight.

When a person dies, their spirit continues on, traveling into the next life where it will carry on with the journey. There are also a number of helpful or familial spirits, who have chosen to stay earthbound, sometimes becoming "spirit guides", to offer guidance. Ghosts, on the other hand, are viewed as twisted spirits with corrupted personalities, who are responsible for causing sickness and disease, contaminating food and drink, and subverting positivity and all that is good.

In comparison, the Australian Aboriginal religion hold that humans have multiple souls. One is an "egoic soul", a self-created, independent state accompanying the body and shaping a person's personality and identity. Another comes from "The Dreaming" or divinity (or both), capable of entering the body to impart knowledge and insight. Ancestral spirits (spirits of ancestors) usually fall under the latter.

At death, these two types follow different paths, fates and trajectories. The "egoic soul" initially becomes a dangerous ghost, not straying far from the deceased's body and property, but instead jealously guards them. Eventually it will pass into nonexistence, either dissolving into nothingness or by traveling to a distant place inconsequential to the living. At that moment, the deceased's property is abandoned or destroyed and no one can rent or live in the property. Ancestral souls are eternal; they return to specific locations or to sites where they are summoned through rituals, or they are returned to the environment, abiding as one with nature and humans, to wherever they are needed.

In fact, these two viewpoints are mirrored in many cultures throughout the world, both ancient and modern, including Asian, Mediterranean and pre-Columbian American, and even in Celtic folklore.