They say we all have a third eye, but we are too fearful to use it. That we all can access the world in which we do not reside in. Someone once told me that all these realms …. the dream, the spiritual, and the physical realms exist all at the same time, all day every day. He said that we choose to ignore things.
“Ghosts and spirits are with us every second, I see them standing next to the robots on my way home, I see their scary faces as I walk down the street. They are with us, but we are programmed to think that they only exist at night. If you accept your full being and your capabilities, you will realise that you are only living a fraction of what your life could be”. A good friend of mine said.
I haven’t been the same ever since. I never really speak about it often enough because people will deem me crazy, but the reality is that I have had my own encounters…and like my friend said, I didn’t only have them at specific times of the night.
In my culture we often relate these encounters to visions, to a calling. Only a few are chosen and have these powers. They say they are the call from the ancestors.
However, what happens when you have never understood the concept of ancestors? When you realise that you are indeed having these paranormal encounters, that you sense things that others don’t and that your dreams are almost always a reflection of the future, some sort of prophecy as they put it…but you still cannot give credit to the ancestors because in your world they cannot exist?
There’s a Facebook post trending. It touches on how people of colour have stopped believing in ancestors because they are from the world of the dead, the Bible does not condone such beliefs. However, in the same breath…Jesus has died and that makes Him an ancestor.
I am that girl who does not believe in ancestors because of that chapter of the Bible….and I must admit that there’s weight to the statement above. Have I sacrificed myself as an African, or am I being tested as a Christian? Can Jesus coexist with the ancestors? Are any of them even real? Why am I so conflicted?
These encounters…. are they even real? What’s real though?
What if I am not of this world? Is this world even real or is it just in my head? *sigh*
Jane Mpholo is a multi-award winning theatre Practitioner and an Audience Development Specialist at the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS) . She has been active on both the national and international platforms with collaborations with practitioners from the Netherlands, USA and Australia, to name a few. Jane is a senior judge for the World Monologue Games and World Monologue Film Festival. Her highlights as a writer include being chosen as one of the 5 top playwrights for the NATi Yong Sterre program for her script "The Dawn", making it to the top 20 playwrights list for the African Women Playwrights Festival of Plays for her script "The Naked Truth" (which she later turned into a short film) and having her script "Fragmented" on the program for Teksmark 2022. Her autobiographical show "Psalm 69" has proved to be timeless and has showcased on both the national and international platforms such as the Global leadership summit 2018. Jane is a panel member for the National Arts Council and is a former FS Provincial Liaison for the BASA Debut Program. She is a recent graduate for the BASA Cultural Producers Program, an initiative between British Council; BASA, Common Purpose and the Manchester International Festival. Her short film "Cleanse" which looks at the life of a woman under oppression as a domestic worker has won multiple international awards and aired on DSTV pop up channel 150 (Woordfees TV 2022). Jane is also one of the contributors for the Stemme/Voices monologues 2022, an initiative by the Suidoosterfees.
Jane practices as a professional actor (has over 40 theatrical shows under her belt), playwright, producer, dramaturge, facilitator, arts coach , speaker and mentor. She is passionate about inclusive education and creating a safe space for audiences to engage in discussions pertaining to the social ills of the world. She is a true advocate for human rights.
Amongst the many awards and recognitions....she is a three times Kyknet Fiesta Nominated artist and made it to the lists "Mail and Guardian Women Changing South Africa" and the "Sunday World Unsung Heroes 2022".
