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Mind To Mind
By
Loyd Auerbach
Just Say No to Demons!!
Frankly, I’m troubled. I’m troubled by the kinds of training (or lack thereof) people who call themselves “ghost hunters” have received (or not received), especially when they offer their services to people who claim paranormal problems in their homes – people who are often scared by their experiences, and experiences that may or may not have a paranormal cause.
I am troubled by the perpetuation of misinformation about ghosts, hauntings and poltergeists on the internet, and amongst ghost hunting groups – who have completely missed the over 130 years of field work and investigation of such things from the earliest days of psychical research through the inception and work of folks in the field of Parapsychology.
I am troubled by the sentiment that using technology is the same as doing science -- it’s not, especially when the equipment is not even used properly (I’ve seen this first hand).
But recently, I have been troubled by the rising tide of “demonology” connected to investigations of the phenomena which exists and is experienced in connection with consciousness, and the suggestion that studying demons is somehow “scientific.”
Many use the word “demon” to refer to apparent non-human entities that have “evil” intentions, and the word “angel” for those entities who have “good” intentions.
It has not been established (scientifically) that human beings have consciousness, though the opinion is that we do. It has not been established (proven, scientifically) that consciousness is separable from the body (ghosts and such), though the evidence certainly points that way.
The idea of non-human disembodied beings is one step even further removed. Only living people’s perceptions, what they experience, points to disembodied consciousness and only those perceptions and interpretations of those perceptions might suggest “non-human” beings (other than ghostly pets, of course). We’ve got enough to deal with human consciousness without leaping to conclusion that some entity or other is “non-human” for whatever reason.
Further, what is “good” and what is “evil” is subject to our interpretations, biases, and beliefs. Is a shark evil when it attacks someone? The result of the attack is certainly not a good thing, but the shark is what it is: hungry.
Is an earthquake “evil”?
Things can be very dangerous without being “evil.” That label attributes motive – a conscious motive to do harm merely for the sake of doing it (see most DC and Marvel Comics super-villains).
There are two questions here: are there non-human entities and are they malevolent or evil?
The answer to both depends on looking deeper into the perceptions, psychology and experience of the folks encountering things they believe fall into these categories.
From the Parapsychological perspective, while there might be non-human disembodied entities (essentially, beings of pure conscious energy), they falls into the realm of belief and speculation even more than ghosts do. The experiences with such things can be explained by other psychic models (apparitions, hauntings, poltergeists, telepathy, etc.).
If there are such beings, are they evil?
Using the word “demon” to describe them already puts them in that category, regardless of what their intentions are or who they are. But more dangerous than that, using the label “demon” puts a religious spin on the entity and experience.
If one takes the word “demon” to mean those entities which started out as angelic beings, caught up in some rebellion against God (losing side) and thrown down to the “region” that became known as Hell, and perhaps their progeny, then we have a simple problem: God, or gods, and beings of that hierarchy, including the "low" (demons) are seen as unknowable.
How do you prove God exists? If you can't prove the existence of God, how do you prove the existence of lesser yet associated beings such as angels? How do you prove the existence of a Devil, whether you call him Satan, Lucifer, Ahriman, or Loki, when he is said to be part of God's (or the gods') hierarchy?
Not all cultures or religions have a “hell” as part of their beliefs in an afterlife. Many do not have demons or angels – though they do have gods who may do good or bad things. The existence of demons and evil entities is relative to our belief systems.
Gods, demons and other supernatural beings have always been held responsible for the events of the natural world, whether we're talking about the weather or the functioning of the human body. Most of such explanations derive from the sense that humans have a hard time with the unknown, so we have come up with some forms of explanations, however groundless in fact. So, in some cultural belief systems, drought occurs because people have offended particular deities or demons, while rain comes when they are again pleased. An individual gets sick because of the direct influence of a magic spell, an evil spirit, or a demon.
Most of us do not still believe demons are responsible for drought, pollution, disease or a simple headache. Why? Because science and medicine have learned otherwise.
Demonology, studying demons, is inherently non-scientific. Approaching such experiences and supposed entities from this perspective IS religious, and a particular religious approach.
For ghost hunting groups to incorporate such things into their “investigations” means approaching the experiences of people from a religious perspective. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many websites for groups that do include demonology, and in the same site profess to be going about their investigations “scientifically” with no acknowledgement that demonology is inherently from religion (and generally the Catholic/Christian religion).
More than that, it can mean that you are going to scare the s**t out of people having paranormal experiences (telling them they have a demon attacking them). This is inappropriate and does not respect the people one is trying to help, or the phenomena/experiences which need explaining.
I have had cases over the years (and know of many more) where people had a “ghost hunter” tell them they had a “demon problem.” They got more frightened than they were, the ghost hunters were unable to help them (other than to refer them to some clergy who could not help them), and the experiences continued. In too many of those cases, there was NOTHING paranormal happening – the people (and I assume the ghost hunters) had misinterpreted normal occurrences as “supernatural.”
In the cases where something paranormal was happening, not everything they reported was paranormal…just some things. We dealt with the experiences, we dealt with the fear they felt, and the phenomena stopped. But they needed counseling because of the stress and fear the “demonologist” ghost hunter had put into them.
There is also another danger which keeps rising in my mind.
Several people have been either killed or allowed to die during “exorcism” rituals in many places all over the world. By demonologists (usually clergy doing the exorcism).
Other people have been killed by individuals who attacked them because they (the killers) thought the victim was either possessed, WAS a demon, or was a witch. I was involved as an expert in a homicide case in 1984 where the couple had killed one woman for apparently casting a spell on them, and another man because he was a demon.
If you are truly interested in the human spirit – in ghosts – and whether it survives in some form after death, drop the demon angle. Too much confusion, too much bias, and too much religious mythology (which I acknowledge may be religious fact to you, but not to Science) can lead to pain and suffering.
It certainly doesn’t lead to understanding what these experiences are that we link to apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists.
It certainly doesn’t lead to any sort of application of Science – which is the search to understand how we and the Universe works.
But most of all, looking for evil demons where there are other, non-religious explanations will send you off track and create emotional problems for those who report their ghostly encounters.
Just say No to demons!
Things That Go Bump in the Day...
Turn on most ghost hunting shows
produced over the last 10 years or so, and you can expect to see the ghost
hunters running around in the dark, portrayed via nightshot camera work.
Yes, it looks cool.
But it's not the way someone educated
in parapsychological field methods -- which is what the original ghost hunters
learned (or pioneered) --would conduct their investigations, for two reasons:
1) Psychic experiences (that includes
experiences with apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists) mainly happen when
people are awake and aware.
2) Most psychic experiences (that
includes experiences with apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists) happen with
the witnesses able to see -- meaning either in daylight or with the lights on.
Plus there's the issue of conducting
the ghost hunt (since much of what we see out there is hardly an
"investigation") late at night even without considering whether the
pattern of experiences/reports indicates some other time of day.
The folklore of ghosts and haunted
houses (ghost stories) naturally put the activity late at night. Let's face it,
ghost stories are meant to scare us, and the dark of night is that time when it's
often so quiet as to both notice things we normally don't, but also when
people's minds are quiet enough to be suggestible.
Parapsychologists take each case
separately. We consider the reported experiences of the witnesses, and try to
nail down patterns that show when the phenomena is most likely to occur.
Most people who live or work in
ostensibly haunted places are not even awake in the wee hours of the
night/morning, so there are few reported experiences at those times. In some cases of hauntings, there is some
imprint of past activity that happens late, or very early morning -- but the
witnesses have to be awake enough to experience them in order to make them part
of a pattern of activity. Or the activity has to be "loud" enough to
wake them up. Yes, this does happen, but
it's the exception not the rule.
For some cases, especially those with
apparent ghosts (apparitions -- conscious deceased people), the
"pattern" is really at the whim of the ghosts. If they want to be around and make themselves
known at any given time, they do -- or don't. Several of my apparition cases
(see my book A Paranormal Casebook (Atriad Press, 2005) such as the Moss Beach
Distillery, the USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Museum, and the Banta Inn, have
apparitions that appear to folks, move objects or otherwise make themselves
known at all times of day and night.
In fact, how can one say a ghost is
active in the middle of the night at a place that has no witnesses present to
experience/report this? In a bar or
restaurant, this is possible because there are often people working well after
But again, most people are either
asleep or not present during the hours we so often see TV ghost hunters running
around with nightvision cameras.
Poltergeist phenomena is the result of
the unconscious activity of living people, and as it is unrestrained by
conscious impulses, tends to be much more dramatic (bigger activity, and often
destructive) than the activity caused by apparitions. Poltergeist activity
tends to occur when people are awake, and with the lights on (otherwise, how
could you see it?). There are some cases
in which it appears some activity occurs when the poltergeist agent is in the
dream state, the activity an extension of the metaphors of the dreaming.
Hauntings are replays of past events
-- the "recordings" very much in a pattern. If the recorded activity
originally happened at
Such activity can certainly occur late
at night -- murder, suicide and such seem not to follow the normal day-flow of
most people. Perhaps some troubled
person living in a home paced up and down the upstairs hallway at
One of my favorite cases involved an
imprint replaying at
In any event, witnesses constantly
report experiencing the same imprints whether their lights are on or off.
In other words, why investigate in the
dark when the vast majority of repeated ghost and haunting (and poltergeist)
experiences occur in the light of day or under artificial lighting?
Okay, so many people find it cool to
walk around in the dark. But it's not necessary. Nightvision cameras will still
throw their infrared light and work just fine in full light (well, people's
eyes won't glow as much in regular light, so that's an artistic downside).
It's much safer to walk around with
light.
It's also more possible to observe
what's going on -- say, if someone felt something touch them, or there's an odd
sound, it's easier to immediately consider alternative explanations for those
events, which is essential in a real investigation. One must always eliminate
as many "normal" explanations as humanly possible in order to be able
to understand what is and is not paranormal.
This is very hard to do in the dark.
Most ghost hunters don't even know the
history of infrared photography in psychical research (later parapsychology) --
and that it was necessary mainly to catch both fraud and potential
"real" phenomena in the old seance rooms of the later 19th and early
20th centuries. Significantly more fraud was caught with infrared film, by the
way.
I advocate using every tool possible
-- both human and technological -- and this does certainly include
nightshot. But it's more important to
find the patterns that indicate the best time to "hunt" the phenomena
that's been reported. Focusing on late night and working in the dark, nightshot
or not, generally misses the pattern (if there is one -- if not, you need to
conduct investigations at
If the pattern (from the witness
reports and prelim investigation) says the activity occurs right after
In general, keeping the lights out
when this is unneccessary and often unsafe is, really, only for
"effect." Darkness is spookier, so it may make the "hunt"
more atmospheric. But there is little place for such atmosphere in an
investigation if you're really interested in finding out what's going on and
why.
Of course, if you're into the fun of
running around a spooky place in the dark, that's fine too. But be honest about
what you're doing.
THINGS TO DO (and Not to Do) WHEN
GHOSTHUNTING
More and more people seem to be interested in ghosthunting. There’s a lot of good and bad information out there on the Internet and on TV, which is where most people tend to get their education on the subject. Investigating reports of ghostly phenomena can be easy or hard, depending on the case and on what the goal of the investigation actually is.
Most amateur ghosthunters can actually be placed in the category of “thrill-seekers.” They’re out there with cameras, audio recorders and other gizmos to try to get an orb or vortex picture or a voice on tape. They head for spooky old buildings and cemeteries, and come back with all sorts of pictures and recordings. Unfortunately, that’s all they usually get, and their interpretations that they have captured “proof” of spirits are misguided, usually by paying attention to other misguided sources. Their photos and recordings are taken at face value, often with little understanding of all but the most obvious non-paranormal causes of what they’ve “gotten.”
They also have gotten their “proof” at locations that often prove to have had no actual experiences or encounters with apparitions or hauntings. While there are a few ghost encounters on record in graveyards, they are extremely few and far between (if you were a ghost, would you hang out in a cemetery?).
Unfortunately, the thrill-seekers have missed the most exciting parts of such investigating: the experiences of witnesses (the ghost story) and the potential to have one’s own experience. That plus the often satisfying, sometimes frustrating, mystery that can come with the situation.
So, I thought I’d provide the readers of the Psychic Reader with some tips I’ve learned over the last quarter century of my own investigating and the more than 100 years of investigations by other parapsychologists and field researchers. These tips are adapted from my forthcoming book GHOST HUNTING: How to Investigate the Paranormal (Ronin Publishing, fall 2003). But first, a few basic definitions so we’re all on the same page.
Apparition: An apparition is our personality (or spirit, soul, consciousness, mind or whatever you want to call it) surviving the death of the body, and capable of interaction with the living (and presumably other apparitions). This is the true definition of a ghost.
Haunting: A location (or object) holds/records information about its history. Our own psychic abilities allow us to pick up certain play-backs of this history, including sightings of people. However, these are recordings, not conscious beings. Referred to as “place memory,” “psychic imprints” and “residual hauntings.”
Poltergeist: Physical effects, such as moving objects, in a situation caused by the subconscious mind of a living agent, generally someone in the household undergoing emotional and/or psychological stress. Effects are caused by psychokinesis (PK), or mind over matter.
GHOST
HUNTING: TO DO
1. Do learn some basics of what parapsychologists and psychical researchers have learned about apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists. While some of the amateurs dismiss parapsychologists and their literature with a “well what have they learned with their methods over the last 100 years…it’s time to make a change” attitude, there is actually quite a lot to learn from the existing literature. If nothing else, one can read accounts of a variety of people’s experiences and the investigative techniques applied to the cases. There are good ghost stories here, but more than that, there are descriptions of techniques that can actually help resolve the problems people often have with such experiences.
2. Do learn about psychic experience and abilities. The very basic model of ghosts requires that some form of psychic communication and perception is happening. Hauntings may rely on some form of clairvoyance (besides some new explanations of how the human brain may pick up on imprints). Poltergeist cases (and any ghost cases involving physical effects) cry out for an understanding of psychokinesis.
Understanding
3. Do learn about the concepts of physics if you’re going to buy into some amateur’s pronouncements that spirits exist in other dimensions or that Science has even proven parallel universes exist or there is proof that there are other dimensions where beings live who can cross into ours. It is speculation, since nothing of the sort’s been proven. Understanding physics (including quantum physics) can help sort through the morass of bad information presented as fact.
Speculation is fine, as long as it’s stated that’s what it is. Hypothetical models and theories are fine, as long as they’re not presented as facts. For example, the definitions presented above are a consensus accepted by most parapsychologists and paranormal investigators (and many psychics), but they’re only working definitions. They might change as we gain further understanding.
4. Do learn about what technology’s place in an investigation is. Learn how to actually use the technology ghosthunters so like to trot out these days (myself included). Learn what the devices are designed to detect (it’s not ghosts), and learn the limitations of the technology. Learn about false readings. Learn what sorts of things can give you unusual (non-paranormal) images on film and digital media when taking photos and video. Learn what sorts of things might cause unusual sounds on audiotape.
Also take the time to think through what the readings, photos and recordings actually represent. Because you have an anomalous “something” doesn’t lead to any sort of definite conclusion that it’s a spirit, or something from some other dimensional plane.
Remember that using Technology does not mean one is doing Science or even proceeding from a Scientific model. Technology is tools. Chimps can use tools, even be taught to take pictures (though maybe not good pictures, though what’s “good” is a quality judgment).
5. Do learn interviewing skills so you can question the witnesses appropriately. The very definition of apparitions and hauntings requires the experience and observation of the phenomena by a human being. Therefore, you need to focus your attention on the perceptions and experiences of the witnesses in the situation. Getting information out of people can require the best interviewing skills you can muster.
6.
Do look for non-paranormal explanations for both the overall case you
investigate and the individual events reported by the witnesses. Question everything. Look
around carefully. Be observant. Keep in mind that cases are rarely so cut and
dried that everything reported or experienced is either paranormal or normal.
Often the witnesses get so freaked out by an encounter that they become
suggestible or may misinterpret normally caused noises and movements in their
homes that they simply didn’t notice or learned to ignore (like learning to
ignore road noise).
Learn about how human perception
works, and a bit about the psychology of suggestion and deception. Perhaps pick up a book on sleight of hand
magic and stage illusions (and on optical illusions) to learn how people’s
perceptions can be misled and their attention misdirected, leading to them
making incorrect assumptions about what they experienced.
7. Do realize that some explanations can be rather bizarre without being paranormal. Look for unusual and rarely seen “normal” explanations. Of course, before being able to do that, you’ll need to read up on such unusual explanations. Parapsychological field and lab researchers have found old and uncovered new unusual explanations, such as the impact of magnetic fields on the brain (causing hallucinations) and the affect of low frequency sound (causing uneasy feelings and things seen out of the corner of the eye). The more you know about what it isn’t, the better skilled you are at determining what it might be.
8. Do take note of people’s experiences and perceptions. Consider working with psychics or sensitives, as long as they are “team players” and are willing to be questioned about what they experience. In other words, work with psychics who can admit they are not always right, and who are willing to discuss their perceptions. It doesn’t hurt to ask the psychics if they can perceive any non-paranormal causes for individual events or even for an overall case.
9. Do pay attention to what you experience yourself, but always look for alternative explanations. Once you start considering your own experiences, you also need to consider your expectations. If you get too lost in your own experience, especially if you desire to encounter something psychic or spiritual, you may find yourself misinterpreting what’s really going on. Take your perceptions apart, and don’t immediate label a perception or experience…take the time jot it down, and then go over it later in context with everything else going on.
10. Do take special note of instances
when the technology
11. Do combine all data from technology with the experiential reports of the witnesses and any perceptions of psychics/sensitives, your teammates and yourself before making a final judgment or pronouncement of what’s going on, and how much is/isn’t paranormal.
12. Do consider that cases can be mixed. In other words, a number of cases I’ve had included hauntings (imprints) and an apparition, sometimes related to each other. I’ve had poltergeist cases in which the stress that caused the PK was in turn caused by the experience of a haunting or an encounter with an apparition. I recently had a case with an apparition visiting in a house with a pretty strong imprint of a past inhabitant, causing lots of stress that led to PK (poltergeist) activity.
In all cases where something paranormal is occurring, I find some misinterpreted normally-caused events (sometimes a lot).
13. Do ask lots of questions and be
observant.
14. Do respect the people in the location you investigate. Most of the cases involving private homes revolve around the family need to “get rid” of the phenomena. If you are called in to help, do not leave without providing them some kind of help, even if only referrals to other qualified individuals or groups. Spend some time educating the family about psychic experience and apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists. Put their needs above your need to “get something.”
In public settings, while you are certainly freer to simply gather data
and make assessments, do respect the owners and do respect the witnesses. Consider that while most people in such
settings may have no fear, a few might have been affected adversely by what’s
going on. Offer them information and
referrals.
GHOST
HUNTING: NOT TO DO
1. Don’t go to any location without full permission of the owner/person(s) leasing or renting and inhabitants. Don’t “investigate” a public location (restaurant, museum, or hotel, for example) without permission. Don’t trespass in cemeteries (or anyplace else for that matter; you might get thrown in jail).
2. Don’t go alone. There are two factors here: Observations and Danger.
As for the first, having a second person (or more) with you will provide you with different viewpoints, perceptions and another set of eyes to look for causes of the experiences and phenomena.
From the danger perspective, this has less to do with the paranormal or the dead than concerns about the living. There’s little the paranormal can do to someone in the physical world who doesn’t allow something to happen. We have our own psychic defense mechanisms, and ghosts or hauntings can’t affect us if we remember that – although one can still be affected emotionally by the experience. Poltergeist phenomena, while physical in nature, have so rarely been directed at people other than the agent (the agent often harms himself) that it’s almost not worth mentioning except for the following: Never duck into the path of a flying object.
Remember, though, that your cases involve living people. Sometimes, while they may seem okay to begin with, they might turn out to be emotionally or psychologically disturbed. Remember that ghosts don’t carry guns and knives, but living people do!
Finally, consider the physical location and any dangers associated with it. Rats, snakes, rotting timbers, and the like may figure in to some investigations.
3. Don’t jump to conclusions. Always consider all possibilities, normal and paranormal, before coming to your conclusion about what’s happening.
4. Don’t believe technology over human perceptions (DO remember that none of the tech has been designed to detect “ghosts” or anything else paranormal). This may be repetitive, but it’s VERY important, given the heavy importance given to tech by so many amateur groups. Again, you may get something anomalous, but don’t jump to the conclusion that a reading or photo relates to a spirit simply because you can’t think of any other explanation.
5. Don’t scare people with pronouncements of ghosts unless a) you’re sure of what’s going on and b) they can handle such news. You could be exacerbating an already bad situation, leaving the folks to find someone else to help them, and leaving a more psychologically disturbed group for the next investigator.
6. Don’t leave the situation and the people without some kind of resolution or referral for further help. Don’t leave without giving them good information about psychic phenomena.
7. Don’t involve the Media without discussing all that encompasses with the people involved at the location. You don’t want to be at the center of a media situation that only causes the folks more stress.
8. Don’t tell them you can get “rid” of the ghost or haunting or poltergeist for sure. You can provide possible resolution, a likely understanding of what’s going on, and certainly referrals and information, but no one can guarantee the removal of paranormal phenomena.
I hope this has been helpful to potential investigators and to people who may consider bringing in a ghosthunter.
One last point for
anyone seeking to consult with other paranormal investigators or
parapsychologists: Check their
credentials, especially if they claim to have a Ph.D. in Parapsychology (only a
couple of individuals with such degrees even exist from accredited
universities). Visit the website of the
Parapsychological Association (www.parapsych.org)
for their membership list and send off an email to them to check out anyone not
on the list. Also check with the
Paranormal Research Organization (www.paranormal-research.org)
or with one of the other reputable research centers such as the
The new
PARANORMAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATION
The Paranormal Research Organization Brings Professionalism to Paranormal Investigators and Ghost-Hunters
The Paranormal Research Organization: Supporting the serious and knowledgeable paranormal field researchers and investigators, while providing educational resources for the snowballing number of well-meaning, but sometimes misguided enthusiasts.
The Paranormal Research Organization had its inception at a two-day
meeting held in August 2002 in
The invitation-only meeting was convened by well-known parapsychologist and paranormal investigator Loyd Auerbach. The event consisted primarily of experienced investigators and researchers of psychic and ghostly phenomena from around the United States. Auerbach explained "the stated purpose of this meeting was for a number of us to get together and trade 'war stories,' discuss investigative methodologies, and really take a hard look at how we're doing what we do, the tech that's now available, how psychics work into this, best methods to help people, and what we really think is happening in cases of apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists."
While starting a new organization wasn't high on the agenda, it became a primary focus of the meeting as the attendees began discussing the rise and proliferation of the hobbyist ghost-hunting groups.
"It is clear" said Auerbach "that while the interest of these folks is generally sincere, the investigative and assessment techniques they are learning and using are primarily those conjured up by not-so-knowledgeable amateurs and other hobbyists, and have a primary focus on technology that was never designed to capture 'ghosts. They have lots of bells and whistles, but no real understanding of the process of a scientific investigation of psychic/ghostly phenomena. They also miss the mark when it comes to actually helping people with their experiences."
He added that "there are, of course, many knowledgeable people out there with a lot of good experience and a professional attitude and interests and who conduct themselves in a professional manner. They may not have an academic background or experience in the field of Parapsychology, but in many respects they are 'professionals' in this area as well."
The meeting attendees discussed the media's role in promoting the perspectives of the hobbyist groups, and concluded that something had to be done to separate the serious field researchers and investigators - and their opinions and conclusions - from the hobbyists and less-than-knowledgeable amateurs.
The solution was to form the Paranormal Research Organization, a guild of sorts that includes a variety of experienced and knowledgeable parapsychologists, paranormal investigators, counselors, and experts in other fields. The focus would be on those who have an interest in understanding what the phenomena and experiences are and what they represent to both human experience and the physical world, and who also conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner.
[Note: psychic experiences and phenomena include apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists, otherwise called "ghosts"]
Who will be invited to join the Paranormal Research Organization?
Individuals who have displayed knowledge of parapsychological field investigation and research methods, who have shown they have concern both for separating the normal from the paranormal and an overriding concern for the clients in actual cases, and who understand the real differences between claiming one has evidence and claiming one has proof. Members of professional parapsychological and related organizations and laboratories with an interest in field research and investigation will also be invited. Some may have been considered "amateurs" in the past, but because of their knowledge, background, experience and professional attitude and conduct, they will be invited to join.
Eventually, the organization will likely take applications to and conduct interviews for membership that will allow an assessment of the knowledge, skill and experience base of an applicant, his or her intentions and motivations for conducting field research and investigation, and his or her willingness to abide by the code of professional ethics and conduct that is drawn up.
Currently, there are members of the organization in a number of states around the U.S., with interested field researchers and investigators expressing interest in being part of the group in several countries around the world. U.S. members of the organization currently have a number of contacts throughout the world.
The purposes and goals of the Paranormal Research Organization (P.R.O.) will be:
· To create a network of knowledgeable and ethical field researchers and investigators who conduct field research and investigation of psychic and so-called "paranormal" phenomena and experiences. This network will be one that the average person can contact easily for help in assessing any perceived paranormal/psychic experience or phenomenon occurring in their home or place of business. The network will also be one that the Media can feel confident can provide credible, knowledgeable and fair-minded experts.
· To create Ethical Guidelines for field researchers and investigators, covering how they conduct their work and how they deal with "clients" (people with the experiences)
· To create Guidelines for Working with the Media
· To create Guidelines for Working with and Mentoring those interested in learning how to conduct appropriate field research and investigations. Provide mentoring/internship situations and eventual educational programs.
· To create a World-Wide Referral Network of field researchers, investigators, counselors, scientists, and even skeptics who may not be part of P.R.O. but are in fact seriously interested in the solving the mysteries paranormal experiences present
· To create a Website that will provide the following:
1) An online forum for serious researchers and investigators, to include both members of P.R.O. and those seriously interested in the phenomena and experiences, to share their data from investigations and field research
2) A resource for hobbyists and enthusiasts that allows them to learn from the collective experience of the members of P.R.O., and provides an opportunity for them to ask questions/receive answers and advice from the professionals
3) A resource for the general public where they can gain access to good information on parapsychology, psychic experiences and even read case reports of the P.R.O. members (and other researchers and professionals contributing to the site). Furthermore, it gives them a way to ask questions and receive answers and advice from many of the experts in the field. The website will also include a listing of the P.R.O. members and their contacts, and the P.R.O. referrals to other professionals who may be of assistance in various situations.
4) A site for the Media, where journalists, reporters, TV and radio producers, hosts and personalities, and even writers can go for reliable information and resources.
· To publish materials for the general public dealing with reported experiences, actual investigations and opinions and conclusions of the P.R.O. members.
· To provide seminars, workshops and courses in various formats -- in-person attendance, online, telephonic and on video -- dealing with paranormal field research and investigation, psychic phenomena and Parapsychology in general.
· To find and/or create sources of funding and financial support for paranormal field research and investigation, and related laboratory studies.
· To provide services to allegedly haunted public places (such as restaurants, hotels, bed & breakfasts, historical sites), including full investigations of the location and reported phenomena and written assessments of the findings that can be made public.
· To conduct regular meetings for the P.R.O. members at which they can continue dialogue on the phenomena and research and investigation techniques, their findings and discussion of opinions and conclusions.
Naturally, each of the individuals who make up P.R.O. has his or her own main focus of investigations and research, and will also be contributing diverse skills from fields other than parapsychology.
The Paranormal Research Organization is dedicated to understanding what is or is not happening in individual cases, to the experience and perception of the people involved in cases. P.R.O. members understand that in order to study what we call psychic or paranormal, one must explore and exhaust other more normal physical and psychological explanations.
To this end, P.R.O. members will not focus solely on the experience of the witnesses, or the physical situation at the location, or the perceptions of a psychic, or the readings from various technological devices. That P.R.O. will include experts in various technologies as well as those who have evidenced psychic abilities is a testament to that perspective. All angles must be covered if we are to learn about what the experiences represent.
While there was discussion at the meeting to make P.R.O. a non-profit organization, the decision was to run the organization on a for-profit business model, at least to begin with.
A second meeting of the initial members of the Paranormal Research Organization is being planned for sometime mid-2003.
For more information, CONTACT:
Loyd Auerbach at
A Brief Interview with Loyd Auerbach
Recently, I
(Loyd Auerbach) was interviewed via email by a Bay Area high school student.
Here are his questions and my answers.
1. Do you have to go to school to become a paranormal investigator?
There's no formal training or education for a "paranormal investigator." In fact, there are currently very few courses in Parapsychology, the field of study that includes apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists, and really only one place to get an advanced degree in the field. In general, it is imperative that an individual who wants to be a paranormal investigator receive a good education, especially one that includes some education in psychology, anthropology, and the physical sciences. It is also essential that a paranormal investigator be well read in the literature of the field of Parapsychology and understands how psychic experiences and research are connected to ghostly experiences and investigations. [Note: See article on "Education in Parapsychology" below]
2. What made you want to become involved with parapsychology?
I've been interested in psychic experiences and abilities and in ghosts
since I was very little. You could say it's because of watching too much TV
(like THE TWILIGHT
It was really the daily soap DARK SHADOWS that pushed my interests into reading more about parapsychology, psychic abilities, and supernatural folklore.
I was lucky enough to have a couple of teachers in high school also interested in the subject, one of whom sponsored a group of us for a Parapsychology club. Even better was the fact that in the New York area, where I grew up, there were a number of parapsychologists for us to meet and talk with.
3. What would you consider as scientific evidence of a ghosts existence?
The best evidence comes from people (witnesses). A ghost is consciousness, and unfortunately there's no physical evidence for consciousness among the living other than our own behaviors and thoughts. That means that while we're trying to confirm something unusual with technology, the only way to study consciousness, whether it is consciousness of the living or dead, is by the experiences of people.
Parapsychology is primarily a social science, though we try to bring in measuring tools of the physical sciences.
The best cases are those where there are multiple witnesses and information provided by the ghost that can be later verified.
4. I am sure you get asked this a lot, but have you ever seen a ghost?
Most people think that the only ghost encounters are visual. But people also hear ghosts (voices, movements, footsteps), smell scents associated with them (like perfume, cologne), and even feel something (cold, a presence, or even the feeling of being touched). Some people experience one of these, but many experience more than one at a time.
I have not seen or heard a ghost, but I have been "touched" by more than a couple, felt presences on occasions where others have seen a ghost, and even smelled a scent associated with a friend who'd recently died.
5. Can a ghost harm you?
Their appearances can frighten people because people think ghosts are dangerous, which can lead to people hurting themselves.
Ghosts are just consciousness -- mental energy -- and when we perceive anything (see, hear, feel, smell), it is just that -- a perception. Think of it this way: the ghost "sends" the information about himself or herself into your mind. Your mind makes sense of it -- perceives it -- and converts it into sights, sounds, smells, or feelings. But nothing a ghost does directly can hurt you.
6. What is the worst spirit you can come across?
Somebody with a bad personality, the kind of person who'd bug you or you would find offensive or even unlikable if he or she was alive. They can annoy, but not harm you.
7. How
do you get rid of ghosts exactly?
This depends on the situation. See my article "A Ghostly
Review" below, go to the Office of Paranormal Investigations
section of this website (http://www.mindreader.com/opi)
for more in depth info on apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists and how we
deal with them.
8. What
skills do you think are most valuable when working on a paranormal
investigating team?
Interviewing skills and counseling skills -- in other words, the skills needed
to deal with the witnesses. Also knowledge of how the world works (so you can
eliminate unusual but normal explanations).
9. What do you use to detect ghosts?
The best detectors are actually human beings. When a person senses or perceives something unusual, we can ask questions about those perceptions, and categorize the experience.
We do also use some technology, such as magnetic field detectors (magnetometers), temperature sensors, microwave detectors, infra-red detection devices of varying types, cameras, tape recorders and the like.
But, for anything unusual on any technological detector to be considered evidence, we must question the reading (like we question people's experiences), look for other sources/causes of the reading (which we do with people's experiences) and consider a couple of other factors. An unusual reading or picture in the environment is just an anomaly. It's just "unusual" and can't be considered related to a spirit or ghost or to a haunting unless 1) the location is one where human beings have experienced things we call apparitions or hauntings, OR 2) a human being (preferably more than one) is having an apparitional or haunting experience at approximately the same time as the readings/photos are showing as unusual.
10. What is your favorite haunted site?
I have a few in Northern California: the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in Alameda, the Moss Beach Distillery Restaurant in Moss Beach, CA and the Banta Inn in Banta (Tracy), CA.
11. What do you enjoy most about your job?
The great ghost stories I hear and the unusual experiences I sometimes have. Also, figuring out the mystery: what's really behind the encounters.
12. Do
you think that phrase "seeing is believing" is true?
Sometimes.
When people see a ghost, whether they believe it or not will depend on many
other belief factors and the emotional state they're in when they have the
experience. I know many people who, when they experienced a ghost, began
believing, but these were people who were somewhat open to the idea of life
after death and to the concept of apparitions.
I know others who so strongly disbelieve that if a ghost appeared in front of
them and tried talking to them, they'd completely ignore what was going on or
later would toss the experience away as "a trick" or "a waking
dream" or some such "nonsense."
13. What
is the worst part about your job?
Two things: 1) That there's no funding to doing research on apparitions,
hauntings and other phenomena that happens outside the laboratory and 2) many
of the people who call me for help are psychologically disturbed and there's
little I can do to help them other than to refer them on to psychologists.
A Question
from TechTV
Early in
2002, I was asked to appear on a TechTV program.
Along with that, they asked me to write
something up on
Technology in Paranormal Investigations.
Here it is.
TECHNOLOGY
Loyd Auerbach
The field of Parapsychology has done much investigation of experiences of apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists. Part of the research process has been to try to find technologies that can provide more data than what we get from human witnesses.
Technology and the Science behind it have a ways to go before anyone can say for sure that this reading or that photo conclusively indicates a ghost. People who offer up their photos as "proof" of the existence of ghosts or who rely purely on technology are ignorant of what constitutes scientific proof (versus evidence). More importantly, they are generally uneducated as to what decades of research and much discussion has led us to understand ghosts and hauntings might be.
Apparitions (ghosts) and hauntings are phenomena defined by human experience.
An apparition typically represents an experience of a deceased person being seen, heard (a voice, footsteps), felt (a presences, a touch) or smelled (perfume, cologne) by a living person. Our model of an apparition is that he or she is the consciousness (or personality, spirit, soul, mind or whatever you want to call it) that survives the death of the body.
Apparitions are capable of interaction with the living. This interaction happens through mind-to-mind communication (telepathy), not through the ordinary senses. When one "sees" a ghost, it is through the perceptual processes (think data processing) rather than through the eyes. Just like a computer can convert digital information into a picture, the human mind can convert received information from the mind of a ghost into images, voices, smells, and even feelings of being touched.
Hauntings, also called "place memory" or "imprints", seem to represent information recorded into the local environment by actual happenings. When one perceives something like a walking-then-disappearing figure in a haunting, one is actually picking up historical information (even recent history) from the location and converting it into an image. Hauntings are much more common than apparition cases, as every place where people have been and emotional events have occurred has the potential to be haunted.
Both have one important factor in common: unless something is perceived and experienced by a witness, there's nothing to indicate a "ghost" or "haunting" is present. We define hauntings and apparitions by the human experience of the phenomena.
The major differences between apparitions and hauntings are around interaction and source. A ghost or apparition is capable of interacting with a living person and vice versa, like two people at either end of a video conference call. In a haunting, you only perceive a recording, like watching a video or listening to an audio recording of someone or events in the past.
Typically, when we conduct investigations, we do use detectors of electromagnetic fields to provide additional sensors to anything unusual in the environment. Such equipment does not detect ghosts per se, but are useful in looking for physical correlates to the perceptions / sensations / experiences of the witnesses (including psychics). Do human beings have the capacity to detect anomalous magnetic fluxes in the environment? Or are these magnetic (and other detectable energetic anomalies) somehow "footprints" left behind by apparitions and haunting "imprints"?
We're still working on that, just as many scientists are working on the major question of Consciousness itself. After all, if technology cannot be used to detect consciousness IN the body, where we assume it is, how can it be used definitively to detect consciousness after death?
If you are going to use detection gear of any kind (and that especially goes for cameras, both still and video and audio recorders), a single reading (or photo) must be looked over with care. There should be correlation to something else; at the very least someone (witness or psychic) having a perception of the "ghost" or a connection to a spot with a history of reported paranormal phenomena or experiences.
Always know the limitations of your equipment and how "false" readings (or photos!) might come up….false in the sense that they are otherwise explainable and NOT paranormally connected when you look closely.
Do not rely on technology to tell you a place is haunted or a ghost is present. It's clear by what's up on the net that people make incorrect assumptions about places and their evidence. Just the fact that people hang out in cemeteries to get spirit orb photos makes me cringe.
Ghost sightings in cemeteries are extremely rare. Just because a body's buried somewhere doesn't make the place haunted (think of the catacombs in Rome and Paris and the thousands of bodies down there!!). And if you were a ghost, would you hang around in a graveyard?
Parapsychologists do use technology to try to find any environmental anomalies that can be connected to the models we're building of apparitions and hauntings. But at present, what we have is some little evidence, and some leads that certain technology, including detectors of magnetic and geomagnetic fields, can help us better understand what's going on when someone sees a ghost.
But it will take a lot more research and investigation with all sorts of technologies, including computer systems that can take in the readings and correlate them properly, before we can point a gizmo at a spot and say "we got one!!" Unfortunately, it will also take research money to buy the technology; funds which researchers do not have.
In the meantime, if you wish to "detect" a ghost, spend more time interviewing witnesses than taking readings. A reading is a lot less exciting than a good ghost story.
For more information on some of the equipment used in ghost-hunting, go to http://www.lessemf.com .
A
GHOSTLY REVIEW
LOYD
AUERBACH
From FATE
MAGAZINE
February 1999, December 1998 & August 2000
"Psychic Frontiers" by Loyd Auerbach
In light of the growing interest in amateur paranormal investigation and the mountains of "ghost" photos appearing on the Internet and elsewhere (see below), I thought it was time to review some basics definitions and concepts of ghostly happenings.
There are three basic categories of experiences/phenomena that have become grouped as "ghosts" in the past: apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists. The three are different conceptually, but events around each can appear similar and can even indicate unique combinations of phenomena.
THE STRESS VALVE
Poltergeist, while it literally means "noisy ghost," has come to represent a different model altogether from a parapsychological perspective. In poltergeist cases, physical effects are the central theme. These effects can run from movements and levitations and appearances/disappearances of objects to unusual behavior of electrical appliances, from unexplained knockings and other sounds to temperature changes, with all combinations possible as well. Rarely are ghostly figures or voices seen or heard (though not out of the question).
The poltergeist model is that of a situation caused by the subconscious mind of a living agent, generally someone in the household undergoing emotional and/or psychological stress. The agents are people who typically have no method of dealing with the stress on any normal level, so the subconscious takes advantage of the psychokinetic (mind over matter) ability we all have to blow off steam. In other words, you can think of the poltergeist scenario as a telekinetic temper tantrum.
Often the physical things affected in a poltergeist case can be used as clues to determine what's bothering the poltergeist agent (who can be divined, typically, by looking at who is around during all the events). The objects affected may belong to one particular individual in the household, or representative of a role of one of the family. For example, if a husband doesn't want his wife to work, instead asking her to stay home with the new baby (and effectively "in the kitchen"), kitchen appliances may act strangely when the subject is brought up in discussion. Water bursts may be representative of pent-up guilt.
Poltergeist cases have, on rare occasion, also provided visual apparitions, though these are generally distorted, archetypal or even monstrous. In other words, you don't get a basic human ghost, but some other projection of stress, guilt, anger, fear or frustration from the subconscious, a projection that is telepathically sent out to others in the household. (Note: For an ultimate expression of a "monster from the Id" rent or buy the fantastic science fiction film FORBIDDEN PLANET; it stars Leslie Nielson before he was funny).
In poltergeist cases, unlike hauntings and apparitions, we don't typically get unusual photos or effects on a magnetic field detector (magnetometer). However, because we are dealing with psychokinesis, and because PK works on many levels, it would not be unlikely for the agent's PK to affect film (like the photo-psychic abilities of Ted Serios) or the magnetometers themselves.
A HAUNTING REFRAIN
Like the Poltergeist, a Haunting relies on the living. Unlike a poltergeist case, where the phenomena are caused by the agent, a haunting is received by the experient (witness who has the experience). Hauntings actually show that we are all psychic receivers (clairvoyant) to some degree.
Ever walk into a house and get a feel for the "vibes" (the house feels "good" or "bad")? Of course, that feeling could be because of normal perceptions, the décor is nice or "off," but you may also psychically perceive emotions and events embedded in the environment. There are other possibilities besides psi, which I'll get to in a moment.
One ability proffered by many psychics over the ages is psychometry: the ability to "read" the history of an object by holding or touching it. Objects, we're told, "record" their entire history, and some can decipher that with psi.
But what is a house if not a big object?
In haunting cases, people report seeing (or hearing or feeling or even smelling) a presence (or several) typically engaged in some sort of activity. It could be a man's figure walking up and down the hallway, or footsteps heard from the attic, or a man and woman physically fighting until one is dead, or even the sounds of two people making love coming from an adjoining room (for this one, see my October 1994 column for the story of "The Sexorcist").
The events and figures witnessed in hauntings tend to be repetitive both in what's experienced and when they occur (at approximately the same time). Speaking with the "ghosts" tends to do no good, because they just continue to go about their business, as though you're not even there.
Some claim this is because the ghosts are "stuck" in some sort of cursed time loop. However, hauntings have occurred on many occasions where the "entities" are representative of living people, so there's certainly no one to be "stuck."
What does appear to be stuck is some kind of environmental recording of events and people. Like the small object "read" in psychometry, the house or building or land somehow records its history, with the more emotion-laden events and experiences coming through "louder" and "stronger." That people mostly report negative events and emotions (around suicide, murder or other violent crimes, or emotional fights) is likely due to a reporting artifact rather than any unbalanced ration of negative to positive events.
If you experienced a haunting in which generally good feelings are picked up and one in which you sense something bad happened in the house, which would you report? Which would lead you to ask for help?
You might think of a haunting as a loop of video or audiotape playing itself over and over for you to watch. Trying to interact with it would be akin to trying to interact with a show on your TV (sure you can turn it off or change the channel, but I wouldn't expect the actors to suddenly stop and talk to you directly).
In haunting cases, researchers have found that people oblivious of the phenomena when they first walk in will very likely pick up something in the same spots in the house as the primary experients. This indicates that something in the environment at those spots exists on some level, physical or psychic.
Using magnetometers, others and I have found a consistency from haunting
to haunting. The magnetometers measure magnetic fields that are given off by a
variety of sources, including technology in the house. There is a general
background reading in the location, and readings will increase when you bring
the magnetometer near anything from a
Considering that, what's so interesting in haunting cases is that the spots where people experience the phenomena tend to have higher than background (sometimes much higher) magnetic readings, even with all household power turned off.
Is the magnetic field indicative of the "recording" itself? We're not sure yet, since the use of magnetometers in haunting cases is still fairly new. Is the magnetic field an indication of something that causes an individual to be more psychic, and so pick up the "recording"? Again, we're not sure, but research by Michael Persinger and others around the connections between the Earth's magnetic field and psi abilities, as well as the use of such fields to cause people to have hallucinations, are particularly promising.
One important thing to consider in haunting cases is whether the content of the "replay" is related to what’s gone on in the house on the land. It is often possible to track the "story" back to events in the current or past inhabitants' lives.
But there are other factors that may cause haunting experiences with no tie to history. One is the possibility of fluctuations in the geomagnetic field causing hallucinations that are interpreted as ghosts. Other environmentally present conditions, including standing infrasonic (low frequency sound) waves affecting the eyes (see my column in the October 1998 FATE). Natural plasma effects such as ball lightning and earthlights can lead to conclusions of hauntings (and apparitions). I had a case a number of years ago in which a number of environmental conditions, from slightly angled doorways and floors to leaking methane gas from a landfill behind a hillside, caused all sorts of havoc with a family's perceptions, making them think their newly rented house was haunted.
In some haunting cases, after a time physical objects may begin to move. How can a "recording" move things? In these cases, it would appear that the PK of the experients' subconscious starts acting in play. In other words, your subconscious mind, undoubtedly picking up even more than your conscious mind is, begins to help the story along because of your expectation of what occurs in ghost cases. By expecting more to happen, more happens.
What about ghost photos in such cases? Can you take a photo of a haunt?
The same rules apply in hauntings as in poltergeist cases. Your expectation of getting something on film may allow your subconscious to use PK to put something on film.
THE "DEAD GUYS"
Finally, we come to actual spirits: Apparitions of the dead (though there are thousands of reported cases of apparitions of the living). An apparition is our personality (or spirit, soul, consciousness, mind or whatever you want to call it) surviving the death of the body, and capable of interaction with the living (and presumably other apparitions).
What separates an apparition from a haunting ghost is that idea of interaction. If a haunting is a replaying videotape, an apparition is a video conference call. While speaking to the videotape brings no response, the conference call allows for two-way communication.
Apparitions would appear to have no particular form other than what they themselves conjure up as their own self-image. In other words, the how the entity thinks of/visualizes him/her is how the rest of us "see" the ghost. Try this: close your eyes and get a picture of yourself in your mind's eye. That's probably how the living would see you if you were a ghost (and by the way, did you visualize yourself with clothing? That's why ghosts don't appear in the nude: their self-images include clothing).
The apparition communicates on a telepathic basis, our psi processes picking up this self-image and adding it to the information received by our "normal" senses. Some of us can process this telepathic input better on a visual basis, others auditory, through feeling or even on a more olfactory basis (smell). Many can experience a ghost on more than one sensory level (seeing and hearing the apparition).
The number of good apparition cases is far surpassed by the number of haunting cases, and it would appear that several things are true about apparitions.
The sheer majority of apparitions are seen once by a relative or friend or loved one within 48 hours of that person's death, as if the person is coming to say goodbye.
Most don't stick around as a ghost for more than a day or two. Longer-term apparitions tend to have a psychological/emotional need or strong desire to stay here. Such needs or desires include a denial of death, fear of "what's next", a strong desire to stay with one's loved ones, or even anger and a life cut short.
Not everyone with such strong desires or needs sticks around as an apparition.
There are likely some environmental factors that allow people with such strong desires or needs to stick around when the conditions and the psychology coincide. These factors, I personally suspect, include both geomagnetic conditions and an as yet identified factor in the physical environment.
Ghosts hang around with people in homes, offices, and restaurants and bars (gee, that's where most living people hang around).
Most apparitions are seen without any associated unusual object movement, at least for a time. It would appear that the some of the long-term apparitional inhabitants of our world, over time, learn to move objects. In other words, learning that they are but consciousness without body, they learn to use their minds to move/affect the physical world (PK), much the way Patrick Swayze's character in the film GHOST had to learn to move objects.
Magnetometers and other detectors in apparition cases are next to useless unless, apparently, the ghost is present (and generally "felt" or "seen" by someone around during the investigation). At that point, provided one has the detectors in the physical vicinity of the apparition, extremely high (and often mobile) magnetic fields are detected. In a few of my cases, we've also gotten (at the same time) high microwave readings and some unusual effects on an infrared thermal-vision camera, and even what looks like energy patterns on Polaroid film.
What was happening? We're not sure if the ghost actually gave off these energies or purposely caused the detectors to detect something (that would be PK again). Or was it the PK of the investigators or experients expecting to detect something?
Can ghosts be photographed? We're back to the PK question. If ghosts can move objects through PK, they can probably affect film.
GHOST PHOTOS?
An unusual photo (or a magnetometer reading) by itself is not an indication of a ghost or haunting. One needs the very thing we use to define and study these phenomena: the experience of a human witness to even categorize a location as "haunted" or having an "apparition."
Otherwise, besides photographic flaws and flukes, it's just as likely (or, to my mind, more likely) that the expectations of the paranormal photographer have affected the film as a ghost has.
Many of these ghost photos are being taken in cemeteries (because a couple of ghost hunters have stated that ghosts hang out in cemeteries), even though no ghosts were ever reported in those places. Here is expectation at its height.
After all, if you were dead, would you hang around where your body was buried, or where you lived, worked and played?
FROM DECEMBER, 1998, FATE:
GHOST PHOTOS ON THE INTERNET
ITEM: The "explosion" of ghost photos and discussion of "proof" on various web sites and in Internet discussion groups. More and more people are getting into the paranormal proof biz; more photos and sound bites of ghostly and other paranormal happenings, supposed energy orbs, entities, and more. People accepting these pieces and making them available often do so with commentary that would seem to indicate that new advances in photo and sound technology was all that was needed to reveal all the spirits around us.
Loyd's View: Beware of ghost-hunters bearing pictures! All these new advances also make it easier than ever to fake things (manipulate the image and sound) and to be mistaken about what one ends up with. No matter what one does, not all factors can be accounted for or controlled when taking any kind of photo, whether infrared, "normal film" or even digital (which I'm told ---- by a friend who's been taking digital photos for a couple of years now --- has some recurring problems such as balls of light appearing mysteriously).
By "factors" I mean anything from problems with film (or the developing process) or the camera or the photographer or unseen influences in the environment. I've seen way too many photos with "mysterious" streaks of light that can be tracked back to point sources of light at the fringes of the camera frame (a little shaking of the photographer's hand is all it takes).
Now of course, "unseen influences" can be sources of light (or heat in the case of infrared) that aren't noticed by the photographer, but they could also be a "paranormal" source. By the latter I mean anything "on the side of normal", said category including apparitions or other currently unexplained energy sources.
Finally, photos are subject to manipulation (just a people might embellish or elaborate or downright lie, so can photos). Digital photos are even more easily "edited" thanks to the ease of use of photo manipulation programs in computers.
What it all boils down to is this: photos are evidence, NOT proof of the existence of ghosts or hauntings. Researchers would weigh the photos against and along with other evidence (including the subjective paranormal experiences of witnesses and other "readings" picked up by environmental sensors such as EMF meters).
Ultimately, because psychic phenomena is by definition "of the mind" (even if one of the minds is a deceased individual), without some experience or perception by a living person, we might as well accept all the non-ghost theories of these photo anomalies, such as dimensional vortexes, alien influence, extra-dimensional visitations, time travelers, etc. Part of what defines an apparition is his/her interaction with living people. Part of what defines a haunting is the perception/experience of living beings of past events and people that occurred/lived in the locations.
So, an unusual photo taken in a location where people have perceived/experienced something that could be categorized as an apparitional/haunting/psychic experience has more evidential weight to it than an unusual photo taken in a "non-haunted" spot. An unusual photo taken while a person (or persons) is having an experience of a ghost or haunting has even more weight.
Add to that any environmental anomalies at the same time, and you have even more evidence to support a conclusion that the human experience of a ghost is a valid perception of something that we class (depending on the actual experience) as an apparition or haunting.
Without long-term study of the conditions of the local environment at the time the anomalous photos were taken (or the anomalous readings), looking for some common factors, the only consistency seems to be the human perception/experience of the location.
FROM AUGUST 2000, FATE:
GHOSTS: VIDEO EVIDENCE
Back in April (2000), I was interviewed by TV Producer/Director Bob
Kiviat for a special called "GHOSTS Caught on Tape: Fact or Fiction"
(which aired on
While only a couple of the comments made it to the final cut of the show, my general feeling of such evidence did come across.
As many readers of FATE might have gotten from past columns of mine, I have a problem accepting photos --- and now video --- as evidence of the existence of ghosts.
Thanks to technology, there are more and more photos of supposed spirits appearing all over, from the Web to TV and magazines. With the widespread use of video cameras, it was inevitable that unusual videos of such things would also show up.
There are two problems I have with photographic and video evidence. Both problems arise from our own concepts of ghosts and psi functioning.
Ghosts, or the more appropriate term apparitions, are ostensibly the spirits --- or soul or consciousness --- of once living people. If they exist, their existence is likely to be a form of energy. Their ability to communicate or be "seen," "heard," "felt," or even "smelled" has to do with telepathy. That is, the apparition communicates with and projects information into the minds of us living folks.
When one "sees" a ghost, that person is receiving information from the apparition, which gets translated into visual data in the perceptual process. It gets "added" to the data already coming through the eyes (think superimposed, like on TV). If ghosts had a physical form that could reflect light (and therefore be easily photographed), everyone in a room where an apparition was being seen would see it, and all cameras would photograph it.
Some would say only those psychic enough to see the ghost actually can. But does this mean the camera that takes a picture is also "psychic"? If so, how?
How could the ghost be photographed or videotaped? Perhaps the ghost, in some cases, is able to psychokinetically affect the film or videotape. In effect, the apparition wills something to appear on tape/film, just as in some ghost cases, apparitions are sometimes able to move objects --- with their minds, of course, since they have no physical body.
So, the problems I have with filmed or videotaped evidence are related to apparitions being a mental, psychic phenomenon. We define such apparitions based on the human experience of them, rather that any physical signs, and we've always done so.
Problem #1: If a photo or videotape of a "ghost" is taken in a location where no one is seeing or sensing the ghost at the time, there's nothing to connect the anomaly on the film or tape with an actual ghost. One must at least give equal (if not greater) weight to other possible explanations for the anomaly on the film/tape.
If the photo or videotape is taken in a place that has at least had past ghost sightings, there's some greater weight that can be given to the possibility that the film/tape relates to a ghost. If there's no history of apparitional encounters, much less weight should be afforded the ghost hypothesis.
Problem #2: If we allow for ghosts to affect film and tape via psychokinesis, why can't we allow for the possibility that the photographer/cameraperson is actually the one affecting the film/tape? After all, we have direct observable evidence that living people can do this, but little direct experience with ghosts doing so --- the ghosts don't confirm or deny that they're doing it.
Past work in Parapsychology has shown that living people can affect film and videotape. The best documented case of psychic photography was that of Ted Serios, studied by the late Jule Eisenbud, M.D., who wrote up his studies in the book THE WORLD OF TED SERIOS: "Thoughtographic" Studies of an Extraordinary Mind" (New York: William Morrow & Company, 1967). A film is in the works about Serios, helmed by THE X-FILES creator Chris Carter.
In most recent photo and video cases, there is that lack of human experience of a ghost or spirit at the time of the photo/video being shot. Therefore, it may be more likely that a living mind is responsible. At least we know the living person is there.
My feeling is that most of the footage and photos I have seen over the past several years fall into a few categories.
There are those photos/videotapes taken that show some anomalies that are the result of photographic problems such as lens flares, reflections, unnoticed lighted/reflective objects in the environment, and the like.
There are those that might be of natural, though unusual, phenomena such as earthlights and ball lightning.
There are those that may be the result of psychic projection by the photographer or other living person in the environment. Either the expectations of the photographer causes something odd to appear on film/tape or the photographic anomaly is just another way for the subconscious to blow off steam (of stress), as with poltergeist effects.
There are those that might actually relate to the same environmental anomaly that appears to allow us living folks to pick up on the history of a location. Place memory, or haunting phenomena, is often linked mainly to human perceptions, but if a magnetometer can pick up unusual physical readings why not a camera?
Then there are those that might actually be a result of an unseen apparition "playing" with the camera.
Finally, there's always the chance of photographic and video manipulation. Unfortunately, the same growth in technology that has led to widespread availability of digital cameras and video cameras has also led to the availability of computer programs that allow for enhancement, morphing, and other manipulation of photographic and video images.
Each must be looked at carefully. While one cannot ever rule out the possibility of a "spirit," unless there's some connection to current (preferable) or past (acceptable) human experience with said "spirit," the other explanations are more likely.
On the psi front, without that ghostly experience, we can't even downplay the possibility that the photographer was responsible with his/her own PK.
So, when I am often heard to say that "photographic evidence by itself is worthless," what I mean is that without a human witness to define the phenomenon as a "ghost" we have too many other possibilities, including the psychic one, to ever say a piece of film or video shows a ghost.
That is, until an apparition appears and volunteers to be part of a photo and video test program.
EDUCATION IN PARAPSYCHOLOGY
Loyd Auerbach
There are a couple of questions my colleagues and I are often asked about Parapsychology. First of all, where can one take courses in parapsychology, and secondly, where can one earn a degree in parapsychology so as to enter the field? Both questions are a bit limited in the way they can be answered, since the resources and support of this field are severely limited.
My suggestion if you want to take a course locally is to check with the local university or college, both the registrar's office and any office of continuing education. In addition, you should check all the adult education programs in your immediate vicinity. The only problem with extension and adult education classes may lie with who is teaching the class.
I know of many psychics and others teaching what they call parapsychology courses, which often include either very personal perspectives on psychic phenomena, or incorporate topics such as UFOs, Tarot, etc. which are not parapsychology. In addition, some of those psychics (whom I often have doubts about as both teachers and psychics) are mainly teaching some form of psychic development or practice, and not parapsychology per se. There are also those classes offered by debunkers.
So, be discriminating when signing up for a course, unless you're mainly interested in a bit of "entertainment," in which case it may not matter who is teaching the course. If the course is offered for credit or has been screened carefully by a faculty department in the university or college through which it is being offered, there is a better chance that the course may be a bit more related to parapsychology as it really is -- though, here again, I have seen outlines of credit course, some of which are aimed at debunking only, which made my blood turn a bit green.
One excellent course you can take is the summer study program at the Rhine Research Center in Durham, North Carolina. This eight-week, intensive study program goes over methods of research and investigation in parapsychology, with a heavier emphasis on laboratory study. In addition, there are a number of places that offer correspondence courses, but the same caveats regarding the who and what of the course hold here. The Office of Paranormal Investigations currently has a 6 hour seminar on video dealing with the process of investigating apparition, poltergeist and hauntings cases from both the scientific and psychic perspectives. The video seminar is available with some written materials and a test that "students" can take and have graded to see their level of understanding of the material. Contact the Office of Paranormal Investigations for more information (esper@california.com).
I personally offer occasional non-credit seminars in the San Francisco Bay Area, and am now working with HCH Institute in Lafayette, CA in presenting a Certificate Program in Parapsychological Studies (certification is from the State of California). Information on the program can be found at HCH’s website (www.hypnotherapytraining.com), and the program is now being offered via a distance learning option. In addition, the American Institute of Parapsychology in Florida (www.parapsychologylab.com) is planning on offering a certificate program.
In terms of actual study for a degree in parapsychology, JFK University in Pleasant Hill, CA (www.jfku.edu), which does offer coursework relating to dreams, used to offer a graduate degree in the field (1978-1986). Rosebridge Graduate School of Integrative Psychology, now merged into another school, also used to offer advanced degrees in parapsychology (both schools in Northern California). Unfortunately, there are no such accredited degrees being offered as of right now.
In actuality, nearly all of the parapsychologists in the world do not have a degree in parapsychology and may have backgrounds in almost any science you can think of (though a large number have degrees in psychology and physics). A number of schools offer degrees in psychology, anthropology, or other fields allowing you to do your work with a parapsychological concentration, often under the guidance of a parapsychologist affiliated/on the faculty of the university. Such schools include the University of Virginia, West Georgia College, Antioch University, Saybrook Institute, California Institute of Integral Studies, and the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology.
For undergraduate work, Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire, offers focus on parapsychology within their undergraduate psychology programs.
The University of Edinburgh in Scotland has a great focus on parapsychology for grad students. A number of other universities in the United Kingdom now have graduates of Edinburgh on faculty, so there are signs that there may be an increase in courses there.
In the United States, Saybrook Institute (www.saybrook.edu) and the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology (www.itp.edu), both in California, are your best bets for graduate school (and offer distance learning options), and again, Franklin Pierce College (www.fpc.edu) for undergrad.
If you want to get into the field of parapsychology, my best advice is to go to a good, strong undergraduate university, whether there is a course on parapsychology or not. Get a background in psychology, anthropology, physics or some other social or physical science, but also make sure you take at least introductory level courses in other fields (especially psychology, physics and cultural anthropology) so you are familiar with concepts that might have a direct bearing on parapsychological research and investigation. Learn the ways of science (maybe a philosophy or history of science course), since we have noticed that people get disappointed when entering a course in parapsychology that is as scientifically oriented as they should be (and not just looking at auras or learning to develop one's own psi). A course or two in statistics and psychological research methods couldn't hurt, either.
Then, when looking for a graduate school, you might attempt to work up a master's program that will allow you to do research or investigation in parapsychological topics. If you have no one at your university to guide you (no parapsychologist, or faculty member familiar with the current literature), contact one of the research organizations for suggestions. Also, you never know when things might change for the better, and a new accredited degree program gets underway. The aforementioned organizations will have knowledge of such an event.
As far as the job market in the field goes, realize that such positions are quite limited. There are few research laboratories around, and fewer places that offer funding for field investigations (meaning, next to none). So, you may have to use that background of your in whatever field you've gotten it in to get a post in a university which might be open to your offering courses in parapsychology, and to doing research in this area. Or, you might try writing as a source of income, or lecturing, or running workshops and seminars. I personally do a bit of all of that, with a focus on lecturing to specific audiences such as the college market.
In any event, speak with people at the various organizations, get to know parapsychologists and their work, and be creative.
For more information on Education in Parapsychology, visit the Lyceum site of the Parapsychology Foundation (www.pflyceum.org).
PSYCHIC
SELF-DEFENSE
Kathy
Reardon
[Note: Kathy Reardon was a very important part of the Office of Paranormal Investigations team here in the Bay Area until she and her husband moved to Richmond, Virginia, several years ago. She was our key team psychic. This is an information piece she wrote for us to provide to interested parties concerned about psychic attack]
The first thing to realize is that it is possible to be affected both physically and emotionally by the thoughts of others. We learned this as children. If you believe that everyone is born with a certain natural amount of intuition, then consider the child that reacts to a parent's thoughts. We have all seen a rambunctious toddler slow down and be suddenly very loving and quiet around an adult that is too ill or too upset to deal with his or her usual behavior.
This is without any verbal instruction.
I had the opportunity to watch two very small children in the Marina area immediately following the October '89 earthquake in San Francisco. The toddler was very independent. She had shown little interest in me or any of the adults. After the quake, she suddenly wanted to be standing next to me, not to her very nervous mother. Her mother commented that this was unusual and asked if I would mind watching out for her. The baby sitter was having trouble getting the infant to eat. I suggested that the sitter surround them both in a little psychic bubble of calm. She said she was too nervous to do it effectively. I explained that ANY effort to shut out all the confusion would be enough of a change to do some good.
Sure enough, the baby started eating and the sitter felt better for her efforts too.
Paying attention to the baby's physical needs to block out all the psychic "noise" was a great idea. If you are being pestered on non-physical levels, focus your attention on the comfort of your physical body and surroundings. Eat 6 small meals a day. Take soothing baths. Get fresh air and exercise. Fill the room with pleasant smells, sounds, sights. We are all born with the ability to send and receive non-verbal communication from our surroundings. We just need to remember how to STOP sending and receiving the things that bother us. That way we give ourselves a choice. The most common time for someone to feel overloaded on a psychic level is when they have just started accepting their psychic abilities and started to nurture them. You have learned how to open up and sometimes are too wide open next to people that are emotionally upset. This will register on some level. If you are constantly opening up, you may even be allowing people passing you on the street or in movie theaters to affect your mood and wear you out.
If religion gives you strength, use the images and prayers learned in that religion to strengthen your belief that you deserve to feel safe. If you are not feeling religious, use any calming image. If you were once on a vacation and found the surroundings to be very soothing, remember that image and use it to calm you. If you are not very good at visualizing, just think about it and believe it is there. It is not necessary to see it in your mind for it to work. If your memory is usually of sounds, then play soothing music to fill the room with your own safe sounds. If you are at work, hum a tune to yourself that is calming. If your memory is usually of smells, wear a scent that is soothing to you, or fill your home with a scent that feels pleasant. (Example: the smell of burning sage "clears" a room for me.)
If mentally filling the room with a particular color makes you feel protected, then try wearing that color to help remind you that you are always able to protect yourself. Some images to choose from: Think of yourself as a tree connected to the deepest part of the earth. Let your branches fill the area and make it your own. Think of yourself as a beam of light. Let that light fill the room with your bright, safe energy. Stand in the middle of a large mirrored ball and have all the negative energy reflect off of the ball without harming you or anyone else. Try standing in the middle of a huge brightly colored rubber beach ball with all the negativity bouncing off of the ball. If you are not visual, hear the sound of things bouncing off the ball. If you feel things, feel the vibration of the ball as the negativity bounces off. If you have a religious figure that helps to protect you, imagine them putting their arm around you or talking to you. If you believe in spirit guides, conjure up your own sights, sounds, feelings, smells of a protective guide that is taking care of you every minute of the day.
The very act of mentally taking control of the situation will help to calm you. All of these protective thoughts are coming from you. Let them fill the area around you, forcing out any unsettling thoughts. Paying lots of attention to the physical world around you can also give you a feeling of accomplishment. Physically cleaning the house, doing chores around the home can help you to feel powerful and in control of your space. If all these psychic distractions have caused you to temporarily forget the physical side of your life, then these chores may be a bit overdue.
If you have tried these things and are still feeling vulnerable to the emotions and energy of others, consider a few sessions with a professional counselor. It is possible that you were feeling responsible for the happiness of others before you opened up psychically. Dealing with your own emotions through counseling can help you to recognize when you are asking others to depend on you without realizing it. This is like leaving the screen door open and wondering where all the flies came from.
If you believe that it is a spirit bothering you, talk to it like a live person. Realize that they are very limited. They may just be so happy that someone can see or hear them that they are stubborn about leaving. They may be able to scare you briefly. Keep in mind that you are able to move in the physical world all the time. They are not. All they can do is send images to your mind. If you block them or ignore them, they will get tired of you.
When you believe that someone is very powerful and therefore you cannot block them out, you are on one level giving them permission to bother you. You can always seek the help of a counselor, professional psychic, and clergyman. My point is, you are not alone. There are many services to help someone feeling alone and vulnerable.
Seeking help should not exceed your budget, whether it is a counselor or a psychic. If you have never been religious, it is not likely that you will suddenly have enough faith to protect you. Consider the other choices already mentioned. If you are religious, lean on your faith. If you do not feel close to the leaders of your church, seek another branch of the same faith.
The important thing is to find something that makes you feel safe. Take charge of protecting your life and your living space. If you do not feel comfortable doing this alone, seek help. You have a right to mental, emotional, and psychic well-being.
Some Thoughts on the "New Millennium"
Loyd Auerbach
Note:
This essay originally appeared in the January 1999 issue of IRIDIS,
the newsletter of the California Society for Psychical Study
Can you believe it? A new millennium coming upon us!
As we enter the end of the 20th Century and head into the 21st, we can look back on 100 years of amazing accomplishments. From the first powered aircraft to humans on the moon (and our spacecraft far beyond), humanity has passed an apparent technological threshold. The more we learn, the more we invent, and the faster the new learning and new inventions come.
We have passed an apparent spiritual threshold as well. More and more people around the world in technological societies are looking for something other than traditional religious ideologies. Some turn to science, others to what's been termed the New Age.
That threshold is not the New Age Movement per se, for most everything in the so-called "New" Age is actually either old (though renewed) or combinations of "old" ideas. Then again, maybe that's what's New here at all: new combinations and new presentations of ideas that have been around a while. The threshold appears to have been crossed as we have become more and more a global community.
In fact, new technology often comes from old ideas (although nowadays, some of those old ideas are only weeks old).
Where do ideas come from?
If you believe some of the UFO folks, technology comes from crashed spacecraft (plus perhaps some secret dealings with some extra-terrestrials). Apparently, the government has been slowly leaking some of this E.T. tech to corporations and the general public.
If you believe many folks with certain New Age or spiritual beliefs, ideas come from entities outside ourselves. Apparently, we are surrounded by spirits and other entities who influence and interfere with our minds and our daily lives.
To me, the most amazing idea that people have not embraced is Self-Responsibility and the Creativity that is inherent in us all: WE are the creators. WE are responsible for our own lives.
It's amazing to me that people have stated that almost every modern convenience from computer chips to fiber-optics have been derived from other-worldly technology. Tell that to the guy who invented fiber optics!
Obviously, as with all the ancient (and not so ancient) monuments and structures built with the help of the ancient astronauts, human accomplishments in the 20th Century are due mainly to the intelligence of "helpers" or their crashed technology.
And people constantly need help with decisions about their future from channelers, psychics, prophets and other figures in authority.
I remember in college, while taking some history classes dealing with
ancient
One professor, which I'm not sure, put things in excellent perspective for me. He said several things about the ancient astronaut theory.
One, that the theory assumes humans had no way of building such structures given their level of technology at the time.
Two, that the theory assumes humans built those things to pay homage to these ancient astronauts (or as markers or even landing sites).
Three, that the theory assumes our ancestors were too stupid and too lazy to have done all those things themselves.
To the first, anthropologists and archeologists have come up with methods by which essentially all those ancient structures could have been built without any technology more advanced that what we believe those cultures had at the time.
To the second, the why, he said "Why build Mt. Rushmore? Why build the Cathedral in Notre Dame, France? Why build a building as tall as possible simply to make it the tallest?" Humans aspire, he said to me. Humans build for glory, whether for the glory of their gods (who do not have to be aliens), for the glory of their heroes, or for themselves. It has always been this way, and will undoubtedly always will be this way.
To the third, he pointed me to all the artistic and creative works of humanity, and to littler developments in "technology" of those ancient cultures.
Humans create, whether artistically or scientifically. The more knowledge we can work with, the more we can create and invent. That this century has had so many developments so fast has more to do with reaching a critical mass of knowledge than anything else. Humanity can take the credit for its current level of technology, good and bad (and unfortunately wisdom does not always come with knowledge).
This lesson is important when applied to psychic experiences and psychic abilities.
It doesn't have to be a spirit guide who provides you with insight. It doesn't have to be a psychic who tells you what to do to bring about a particular perceived future. YOU have the power as well.
When asked whether Parapsychology has any sort of message for the world about psi abilities, I do have to say yes.
We are all psychic. Some perhaps more than others (such as some are more artistic than others). Most psychics may simply be people who recognize and acknowledge their abilities and the information they bring forth. That is the first step to psychic development.
With knowledge comes better decision-making. That's why people see psychics very often; to help make decisions. Whether you get that information yourself or with the help of psychics, YOU make the decisions and YOU are responsible for your own future. [Note: I'm not trashing psychics here; just pointing out that it is the client who is ultimately responsible for his/her own future, not the psychic who predicts it]
Add to that the idea of Psychokinesis --- that we can affect our world directly with conscious and unconscious thought, and we may even have some responsibility for events that go on around us.
So, Parapsychology's message to the world is that we Humans are connected to that world on a mental/psychic level. We are responsible for our own thoughts and decisions and actions and futures. We do create our own realities…every day, in fact.
How does this relate to the UFO-technology issue?
We are smarter and more creative than many of us give ourselves credit for. We don't need aliens or spiritual entities to provide us with our ideas. If spirits are speaking to people, those people can of course learn from the knowledge of others (dead or alive). Remember, just because they're dead doesn't mean they're smart --- dying does not significantly increase one's IQ, to paraphrase Charlie Tart.
All too often we look to give credit (or blame) to outsiders, because we can't seem to take on that responsibility ourselves.
If we can get THAT across in the New Age, we're bound to reach the critical mass of being psychic, and leap ahead as our technology has.
What's interesting in the few years ahead is the way the Internet and the World Wide Web have pushed us more and more into being connected to more and more people around the world. Spiritual ideas are appearing online as well as technological ones. Creativity is rampant on the Web.
Perhaps the online world is about to converge with the psychic world.
Wouldn't that be something for the New Millennium!
Some
Thoughts on Divination and Psi
Loyd
Auerbach
Note:
This essay originally appeared in the February 1999 issue of IRIDIS,
the newsletter of the California Society for Psychical Study
I am always curious to hear from people in the divinatory arts. My background in college was in Cultural Anthropology, and I focused quite a bit on supernatural folklore and magical beliefs in a number of cultures. The various forms of divination were of great interest to me, since so many of them can provide useful information.
Or can they?
As a parapsychologist, and as a magician/mentalist, I have looked at various divinatory practices over the years, from Tarot to Astrology, and to the claims behind those practices. My personal conclusion is that the practices themselves are only as good as the person doing the work, as with so many other things in life. If they don't know the "rules," they might as well be making things up (as many do).
However, I also believe that the "power" in an divination practice is in the practitioner, not in the art itself. In other words, it is the psychic and intuitive abilities of the individual doing the reading or creating the chart that provide any sort of beyond-generalization information.
What divinatory practices do is two-fold: they provide a focal point for people's psi talents, and they alleviate the ownership resistance issues that many people have around being psychic. Here I am excluding situations in which the practitioner is utilizing fraud, making up things to say regardless of what the practice -- and the rules of how that form of divination works -- is, simply telling the client what the practitioner thinks he/she wants to hear, or faking it in any other way.
Ownership resistance is a concept brought to the forefront of parapsychological research a number of years ago by the late British researcher Kenneth Batcheldor. This concept pointed to the culturally programmed resistance to having psi abilities (he also noted something called "witness inhibition," relating to mind-set and fear issues related to even witnessing something paranormal). People with psi are, let's face it, often ostracized or treated as very different kinds of folks by the general public. There is often a stigma attached to disclosing psychic abilities.
But when using Tarot, or reading palms or throwing rune stones or charting a horoscope, the popular knowledge is that anyone can do these things once they know how, and anything that comes from the chart or the cards spread or the hand or a throw of the stones is more about the divinatory items and calculations than about the person doing it. After all, one can read what the Tarot cards mean in dozens of books.
The problem, though, is that those books and many of the methods used to divine the past, present, future or personality of an individual deal in generalizations about behavior, personality, and activities. While Astrology done by trained individuals brings in more factors (the more planets, moons and constellations involved in the calculations), any specific accuracy, from the parapsychological view, is a function of the psychic (and perceptual observation) talents of the astrologer.
Does this viewpoint mean I don't think people should pay any attention to divinatory practices?
Absolutely not. They seem to be among the best ways to facilitate innate psychic abilities, through the alleviation of ownership resistance.
However, there is a point at which the practitioner must realize that no matter what the cards or the chart or the stones say about a person's future, the future is open to interpretation and change. Learning the future is, after all, why most people go to see psychics. It is also the least accurate focus of psychic perception.
The future changes as human beings change and make different decisions based on the information they receive. No matter how truly precognitive a psychic is, once the future is predicted, the client can take that information (knowledge is power) and alter the future through different choices. I have heard a number of readers and astrologers over the years make statements about the future that it cannot be changed … that the cards [stones, stars, numbers, palm] never lie.
In reading the future, the interpretation of the horoscope or card spread is up to the practitioner. Therein lies his/her power. How the future for the client moves on from that point is up to the client to make or break those predictions.
Of course, you may believe in predestination. However, I believe in my Future being at least somewhat in my hands, affected by my own decisions, actions, indecisions and inaction. Or, as the great Jedi Master Yoda says, the Future is always in motion.
Some
Thoughts on Magic, Mentalism and Media
or
Perception is Everything!
Loyd
Auerbach
Back in November 2001, I performed/lectured for a group at the
In the world of psi, neuropsychiatrist Dr. Vernon Neppe coined the phrase "subjective paranormal experience" to as a descriptive label of what we call psychic experience. While there is an objective reality (or at least there appears to be one), our experience of that reality is dependent on our personal perceptions and assessments of those perceptions. We each create our own subjective reality in that we each have specific parameters and filters we apply to process and digest the information pulled in by our "normal" and "paranormal" senses. When it comes to psi, how we subjectively perceive our own experiences can cause us to be more or less likely to label the experience as psychic or paranormal or just plain weird.
Perception depends to some extent on learning. Once we learn to see the world in a particular way, a way that may actually be part of our cultural and/or religious background, it is difficult, though not impossible, to see it any other way. Our beliefs, if changing, may affect our perceptions -- as they affect the ways we expect things to behave, including our own perceptions.
The perception of things in one environment may not translate well when faced with the same things in a new environment. We may unconsciously ignore or re-interpret happenings that make no sense according to our expectations.
Perceptual expectations can be superimposed on the way objects and events "objectively" exist, resulting in a distorted perception (one that may be seen differently by others). Past experience, current and past motives, the context of the event, or simple suggestion can precondition perception in surprising ways, which may or may not actually reflect reality. We see what we want and expect to see, especially when the event is of short duration and happens in an out-of-the-ordinary way.
Magicians have long taken advantage of perceptual processes and expectations, as well as optical and other sense-related principles that may cause something physical in to be mistaken for something else. Effects and illusions are designed and performed in such a way as to theoretically take maximum advantage of what is known about the psychology of perception (and misperception). Most magic is visual for a very good reason: humans tend to rely most heavily on the sense of sight, and assess visual input in certain known ways.
Magicians make use of the attention-focusing of their audiences. For the most part, they do that with visually perceived movements, props, and distractions (such as a brief flash or a scantily clad assistant). They may also use sound and language to distract and play with perceptions.
But magicians also take advantage of the memory processes and how they impact not only what an audience member expects to happen next, but also how that same audience member later tries to reconstruct what happened. Perceptual expectancy effects can linger in the aftermath of many an illusion.
Of course, magicians also use mechanical/technological means to perform their miracles, using principles that generally have no or little application in other walks of life (so don't wrack your brain trying to figure them out -- just sit back and be entertained).
Today, magicians at their best are entertainers who create and sustain a sense of wonder in their audiences. But the vast majority of the audience is aware that "Magic" is not real, that what they've experienced are tricks and illusions that "fool" the senses.
On the other hand, Mentalism (also known as Psychic Entertainment) is a branch of the entertainment arts -- usually seen as a branch of the conjuring arts -- wherein the performer simulates psychic, paranormal, supernormal, occult or supernatural "powers." The mentalist in his performance may also go the direction of demonstrating bizarre psychological (rather than psychic) effects as such, or may even put things in the context of taking advantage of synchronicity, Fate, or other underlying Universal trends and forces.
For decades, there has been somewhat of a split between many magicians and many mentalists. This is likely partly caused by the reactions of their audiences.
Magicians do "Magic" that is not accepted as even potentially "real."
Mentalists do things that might be real.
The audience members may typically ask a Magician "how did you do that?" but ask the Mentalist "was that real?" These are very different reactions. Mentalists could be doing real stuff, and there are varying degrees of comfort that psychic entertainers feel in relation to such audience reactions. This is why there has been much discussion and dissent with regard to psychic entertainers offering disclaimers (or not).
Of course, for the magicians who are truly entertaining, the acceptance of their art as reality is less important. If their audiences are entertained, they are almost never going to feel "tricked" or "fooled," which is what typically generates the "I need to know how you did that" attitudes and reactions. Same goes for mentalists.
Then there's the Media.
How many of us view the world around us is shaped by a very few things: 1) what our education brought to us, 2) what our social circle has impressed upon us and 3) what the Media tells us. In relation to the recent terrorist attacks, if one compares the reactions of people in the Middle Eastern countries where there is little Media or access to international information to those of people who have free access to the such information, it's clear that lack or presence of the Media is a key factor in what shapes (or doesn't shape) people's ideas.
For the most part, we accept what the Media tells us. Journalistic truth! Impartial reporting! These are the battle cries of reporters everywhere.
But if one takes the time to really understand the Media, one learns that there are often agendas -- hidden or overt -- and points of view being promulgated. The Media builds on our perceptions and understanding of how the world works.
Like Magic!
Unfortunately, unlike Magic -- more like Mentalism -- people perceive what they see and hear as "real" without asking "how did you do that?" or even "why did you do that?" If it seems real, because it fits in with our perceptual (and intellectual and emotional) expectations, it must be real.