As a writer, and a yogi, I am always looking for ways to understand yoga off the mat. While the application of the poses to our bodies is interesting, truly the heart of the matter is the application of the practice to our life.

In  “A World Beyond Belief: Tales of a Real Estate Shaman,” by G.W. Hardin (Dreamspeaker Creations, LLC. 2012) writer and real estate “shaman” G.W. Hardin tells many real life stories about his experiences with the world just beyond what we can see here and now.

Let’s begin with, what is a shaman? Shamans are part healers, part teachers and part spiritual guides. They are unique in that they are sensitive to the world around us. If I seem to be beating around the bush, that’s because I am.  Usually what happens right after you tell people that you believe in spirits and the messages they have for us, you are taken to the funny farm.

But there is nothing funny about when a house is haunted. When I moved to Denver years ago, I would sit in a potential home for many minutes just trying to absorb the energy inside. This would drive my realtor insane because he wanted to know what I thought about the kitchen or the baths. Luckily, because I am not a shaman, I chose wisely.

Last year I was very interested in a house nearby that was, by all reasonable measures, perfect. I visited it, took measurements, and went home to put the big beg on my husband. But before it got to many promises about making dinner and probably a lot of sex, the house was sold. I cried for a week.

Then during the winter, I met a friend who lived near that house and I told him we were almost neighbors. “Don’t worry,” he said. “You will soon have another chance. That house has been bought and sold more than eight times in the past 10 years.” He then reeled off a list of divorces, lost jobs and deaths that kept that house on and off the market.

Whew, that was close. However, if I had had G.W. Hardin with me it never would have been close at all.

As a shaman, Hardin can pick up the vibrations of spirit and karma that occupy a home. This beautiful book is filled with stories, all true, of his experiences with the world just beyond. When he detects a spirit, he can suggest ways to work with it with crystals and other tricks so that everyone can live together in peace and harmony. To say that it is fascinating wouldn’t do it justice. Riveting is better.

The story I loved the most was of a boy who died before his time in a motorcycle accident near the corner of a building. His parents, distraught with grief, could not let him go. In addition, his spirit was angry and confused and so it hung around the building where the boy died haunting it and disrupting the new occupants. When Hardin figured out this mystery, he was able to persuade the boy’s spirit to move on and live the living alone. What’s more, he was able to help the boys’ parents cope with their overwhelming loss.

If you are curious about spirits and ghosts, about the historical properties of the earth, about the world which we often cannot see, then this book is for you. If you have ever been inside a haunted house, or just a home that did not seem quite right, then Hardin can make sense of it. It is a delightful and quick read, and will make you think twice before you buy real estate without a shaman by your side.

Michelle Berman Marchildon is the Yogi Muse. She’s an award-winning journalist, a former corporate executive and the author of the memoir “Finding More on the Mat: How I Grew Better, Wiser and Stronger through Yoga.” Known as the “Erma Bombeck of the Mat,” Michelle is a Columnist for Elephant Journal and Origin Magazine.  She is an E-500 RYT with Yoga Alliance and teaches Aligned Vinyasa in Denver, Co. Even though she is uber-fabulous, she is NOT an Ambassador for Lululemon, and has been promised she will never be one. You can take her with you on your computer or I-thing by downloading her classes from www.yogadownload.com. You can join her on Facebook at “Michelle Marchildon, The Yogi Muse.”