Category: Critical thinking

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Paranormal series: Eek a ghost or wait right here, I’ll be back with a camera.

Ghost below the Sunset?
Ghost below the Sunset? (Photo credit: Scott M Duncan)

The problem with the paranormal is that finding decent evidence is difficult.  Ghost don’t seem to come when called, and poltergeist certainly don’t seem to want to do their stuff before the camera. We can’t seem to remote view with accuracy and no one seems to be able to prove that out of body experiences are genuine.

Personally, I think that unless you’re in the right place at the right time, it would be very difficult to get something that would be irrefutable proof.

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at YouTube for any video that looks genuine. Most are, unfortunately, fake.  Some are nice and spooky, but nonetheless, fake.

It seems to be extraordinarily hard to get photographic or video evidence of something that is paranormal.

The evidence tends to be vague or apocryphal. There are way too many ghost videos or stories that can easily be fabricated or have factors that just don’t add up.  (I would like to look at some of these in future blogs and critically evaluate them.)

It seems that nearly every ‘legitimate’ video is either extremely grainy, jerky, or could be falsified.

When you think about it, each year, millions of hours of video are taken by people nowadays in all walks of life, including movie studios, and from all that footage, the best we can come up with is grainy or vague videos where the action always seems to occur just out of shot.

Now, personally, I do believe there are spirits, and I do believe people see them. I just don’t believe most of the footage I’ve seen of them.

Of course, ghost aren’t the only phenomenon about, there are also UFO’s creature sightings, poltergeist, conspiracies and a dozen other things that simply seem to evade any real proof.

Most evidence is faked on built on a house of cards and it hurts the credibility of things that are real, but are hard to prove.

I have seen one photo back in the mid-80s (before digital cameras and Photoshop) that had a picture of a baby and on its side was an extremely old lady’s head. It looked genuine, and I’ve no reason to suspect otherwise. What’s more, it was incredibly clear. Sadly, the technology didn’t exist to get a copy back then.  I would have love to have an analysis done on it.

But such photos seem to be rare and many are clearly faked.

I suppose what bothers me is that people accept what they see without questioning it. I believe that we should question everything because things are rarely what they seem to be, and even if you think you know the answers, there is often another level to uncover.

As most would know, I’ve had plenty of weird experiences and personally, as I’ve said before, it’s a temptation to try and not look at them critically.

I feel it’s important to be critical about them, though not cynical, as that implies that you already know the answers.

For my own experiences, I look to see if there are other explanations.

When two or more people share the same memories of something, did they arrive at the same conclusions independently?

Unfortunately, it is way too easy to influence someone’s answer or memory and a lot of my own shared experiences can be called into question because I might have influenced others on some level.

Fortunately, not all, though.

Finding decent evidence is the bane of us who believe in the paranormal, and really, if I was a skeptic, I would be having a wonderful time poking holes in everything I said I experienced. (Which is fine, because I love laughing at myself!)

If anyone has come across something they consider to be proof, please let me know. I would love to see it and give my thoughts about it.

A genuine video or photo that can clearly show that it’s real would be the holy grail of paranormal evidence.

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Paranormal series: Psychic Empath or at least I think I am.

Now, it may seem odd to people reading this blog that I seem to go out of my way to discuss if psychics and the paranormal are real or not, especially, considering that I have named this blog Psychic Empaths. Indicating that I am both psychic and an Empath.

I do believe I am an Empath, and from time to time, I do certainly experience what would pass for psychic abilities.

There are certainly those who will maintain that I am both, regardless of what I tell them. There are also those who put me on a pedestal, which is something I’ve actively discouraged.

The purpose of this blog is to share my experiences and knowledge and ideas and help others benefit from it. I find that many can relate to what I’ve experienced, and just as many can’t. As I cover a very broad range of topics, eventually people will come across something they like.

I do have some hard and fast rules about what I blog about, though.

I need to believe it’s genuine.

I need to be critical, yet open about the experiences.

I need to ask the hard questions, especially of myself.

I must relay my experiences as fully and as honestly as I can. (Which means that leaving out something that isn’t convenient isn’t allowed and same goes for adding in something that didn’t happen, or happened out of context.)

I find this a difficult balance to achieve as there can often be a temptation to fudge things to make things look better, or worse as the case may be.  However, I am a purist and while that’s annoying in many ways, it also helps me to be exact.

Personally, I’d like to believe that I am psychic and that I’m a high level Empath, but there are times where I appear to be neither.

I can’t control it and things seem to come in waves. Maybe that’s how it’s meant to be because it’s not healthy to be ‘on’ full time.

And yet, I will always pick up certain things regardless of what I do. For instance, I was picking up the general anxiety of one of my staff, who suffered from low self esteem and had personal problem, and in spite of her excellent work, she never believed in herself.

Everyday I would come into work and feel this so strongly that I started to dread going to work. Thing was that I couldn’t do anything about it. Eventually she resigned and i immediately felt a great relief, in spite of the fact it meant more work for me.

But as I said, I can’t seem to control the empath side. It’s either there or it isn’t, it would appear.

What I try to look for, though, is consistency. Do I get the same results when the same events or circumstances occur?

Surprisingly, yes. I can’t control those events, but when they do happen, there are definite patterns.

For instance, when I’m feeling ‘muddied’ and  anxious, my partner will pick this up as a headache, and she will know, even if we’re not in the same room, or sometimes country.  She will also know exactly how clear I am, which will always correspond with how I am feeling.

This is a double edge sword, though, because the natural tendency is for her to distance herself from me so she doesn’t become infected by whatever is around me right then.

Consistent results are certainly important, even if you can’t control them.

It’s the reason I use Bach Flower Remedies. I can get very consistent results with them, unlike anything else I have tried. I can use them with confidence and recommend them without feeling like I’m misleading people.

Unfortunately, not everything falls into that category, and it’s the exception, rather than the rule.

Next: Searching for evidence.

 

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Paranormal series: Dos and don’ts of channeling or does this fit my belief system?

Last post, I relayed my rare experience of getting a prediction that actually came true.

All that aside, getting answers to questions is not as quick and easy as just asking someone. At least, an answer that is useful and meaningful. Sometimes I can, for whatever reason, just see how things will pan out, and they do so as I foresaw, but it can be hit and miss.  There are too many variables. But getting information on demand is not something I can easily do.

Now, I have heard of people who get very strong messages to pass on to others, and I would say that fall under the category of soul calls.

I’ve certainly had that from time to time, too. I’ll have a strong pull to pass on a message. I don’t know if the source is a guide, a departed one or just a call for what someone needs to hear, but when the pull is strong, I will always answer it.

Then there are the times when I do get an answer, and it’s not the one I was expecting.  Sometimes I’ll get told that the person is making something up and I then feel like an idiot for believing them in the first place.

Even though I can sense truth, I tend to put myself in a space where I’m open to what someone tells me (as I do not judge), though at times, I often get a sense of anxiety when something isn’t right, but I tend to ignore it if the person seems to believe what they are telling me.

The problem then is, what do I say when I find out someone isn’t being truthful with me? Do I call them on it and tell them that they are embellishing their story or do I fade away from their lives?

Sometimes it’s just a matter of people exaggerating the truth.

The point really is, though, that just because you have a guide or you are in contact with a spirit, it doesn’t mean you have all the answers, or even some of them.

Generally, I find that there are several factors in getting correct information.

It depends on:

  • Your own level of awareness.
  • Your ability to ‘hear’ what is really being communicated to you.
  • Not filling in the blanks for information you are not receiving clearly.
  • Your ability to accept things that are not in your current belief system.

I’ve certainly fallen prey to all of the above at various points in my life. The stories told to me from my guides were ‘dumbed’ down at the time because I just couldn’t accept anything else. Even then, what was told was hard enough to believe (in spite of all the evidence supporting things.) When I received clarification later on, I found that it was the same story, except it was more fully fleshed out.

Sometimes, you just have to admit that you don’t know the answers, at least not yet. Sometimes it might take decades to reach a place where you do and sometimes it may not happen at all in your current life.

Letting go of preconceived ideas and ego can be terribly difficult, especially as we don’t like to be wrong, and we feel our own credibility is on the line. There’s also this odd perception that psychic people can do everything all the time and without any effort. That simply is not the case. I doubt there’s a single psychic out there that can be ‘on’ all the time without suffering severe burn out or will not get very ill because of it.

There have certainly been enough times where I’ve found out I’ve been wrong to make me question just how psychic I might be and just where those thoughts in my mind are coming from. Are they mine, or do they really come from a guide?

But then, I’ve also had really specific information given to me from time to time that I find out later that it was true.

Those are really wow moment for me. Generic information is easy. Anyone can do that. Specific information, now that’s a talent.

Anyone can say: My dear, I see you’ve had some trauma in your life, and it’s affected you.

Well, unless you’ve lived a charmed life that would certainly apply to most anyone. Now, if you could specify the type of trauma and when, then that’s another story.

Be aware of those who claim to be of the psychic world. Be critical. It’s okay to be wrong. It’s okay to not believe. Just because there are fakers out there, it does not mean everyone is fake.

Just remember, this is not an exact science.

But we are always learning, and being wrong is just as important as being right. Look at it critically. See how you felt at the time you received your information. Did it flow? Where there any anxieties? Did you feel any resistance in passing it on? Self observation is very important to success.

It’s okay to say: Yeah, it wasn’t right this time, but at least we’ve learned something from it.

Next: Psychic Empath or Psychic Skeptic? 

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Paranormal Series – responsibility or with great power comes…

Image-1 (9)I have to admit that I’m a big fan of skeptic and debunking sites. This might seem odd, especially considering that I would almost certainly be a target for them, especially with my pseudoscience and belief in the Bach Flower Remedies.  (Which are just plants soaked in water to capture their vibrations, and yet… they work!)

But I believe they not only serve a valuable service, but are very educational.

I feel we need them.

Knowledge and understanding of how things work goes a long way to not being scammed by others.

There are just so many charlatans’ out there. I’m not talking about those who claim to have genuine psychic abilities, but those who scam people and they know they are doing it.

They prey on the vulnerability and desperation of others who are desperate for a sign of lost loved ones or are feeling alone and lonely.

I, personally, would rather such scammers be exposed, and people like myself also called into question if it helped even one person to avoid being pulled in by false hope and losing their money.

And while skeptics tend to target things that are not scientific, I also notice that they seem to somehow avoid things that can’t quite be explained.  Maybe that’s because they can’t be really explained so it’s better to focus on those things that can be.

Fact is, things that are faked are easy targets. They can, and should be debunked.  They need to be exposed.

The main problem is that most don’t want to hear it. The only ones who seem to be interested in such things are those who are already convinced it’s all fake.

It’s just astounding how people will jump to a psychic’s defense, even when said psychic is clearly shown to be wrong over and over again.

People will defend them by saying that they are just passing on messages from beyond, and they shouldn’t and can’t be held responsible for the information they are given.

Well, I beg to differ.

Let’s say, just for a moment, that these are not cold hearted and calculating phoneys that don’t have a psychic bone in their body.

Let’s say that it’s a genuine medium. (I’m going to be generous and give them the benefit of the doubt.)

Let’s assume that they really are hearing messages from beyond. Are they running them though any type of filter or do they just blurt them out and pass them on like people who pass on gossip or urban legends by e-mail without checking to see if there is any truth to them first?

If not, why not?

Do you repeat everything you hear someone say as fact? I’d certainly hope not. You might not have all the answers, but I’d hope you’d spend a little time doing some research, or even looking at if the information received is even plausible or not.

You might then say, well, when they’re talking to an audience, they’re under pressure to perform and they don’t have time to go and check things out.

And I say in response that they have a truth filter. Their feelings and their ‘gut’ tell them when something is right. They may have learned to ignore it, but everyone certainly has that ability. (And most tend to ignore it!)

In the end, these people are responsible for what they tell others. And while I’m not saying that the person who is receiving the information has no responsibility (and they certainly do) they do listen in good faith and trust that what is being said is really being passed on from the other side.

You would not tolerate this kind of service from someone in a real profession. If you hire an electrician to fix your wiring, and he just stands there and waves his hands around for a few moments, then claim it’s all fixed and charges you $300.00, you’d kick him out of the house.

Of course, as I said, I’m being generous here and giving psychics  the benefit of the doubt  that they are genuine.

Most of the time they aren’t and are just giving what is termed a cold reading, which is a reading that has generic information that could pretty much fit anyone and more often than not, the one receiving the reading will help them clarify what is right. (This is why street psychics insist you take of your sunglasses, so they can see your eyes and reactions.)

Anyone can give a cold reading and have a very high chance of getting things right.  What’s more, these so called psychics know it.

Everyone has a responsibility for what they do and say. No one can sit back and say they don’t. A person who tells your fortune is just as responsible for what they say as the person who is receiving the information and has to decide how true it is for them.

However, it’s still heartbreaking and frustrating to watch people being duped.

Next:  There was this one time I predicted a winner…

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Personal experiences: Part 6 – Afterwards or wait a minute Mr. Postman.

Australian postbox

This is a six part story about a paranormal event that occurred in January 1980. As usual, it’s told without any embellishments and according to a document that I had written after the event.

The camp ended shortly afterwards, and I went home with a sense of wonder that such a thing could happen. I told several of my friends about it, but few were really interested in my story, apart from that fact it made a good ‘ghost’ story. I told my mother who had no answers, and my father just dismissed it as a group hallucination.

Shawn, however, was never the same after that camp. He became my bane of three future camps. He riled me up so much at the time that I was even contemplating giving him a pounding, but I’m happy to say that never happened. I have to say that he was the only person I ever felt that way about.

When I’d see him at solo competitions, he would just stand there with his friend Terry staring at me and laughing, like Beavis and Butthead.

It was as though he had made it his mission to make sure that my time around him as unpleasant as possible and he did a good job of it, but fortunately, I finally started to come into my own and had much better protection.

I also heard that he was messing around with the occult when he was at home.  I never found out what became of him, or if he’s even still alive.

The incident itself was isolated. Nothing similar occurred on future camps. For that I was grateful, though at the time, somewhat disappointed, too.

There is an allure you have when you’re young to the supernatural, especially the dark side of it. Part of you doesn’t really believe it’s true, and the other part wants to believe and while that was the only camp where such things happened, it was by no means the only event of that nature that happened in my life.

Sadly, my ignorance and lack of knowledge might have contributed to the situation there. If I knew then what I know now, that stairway would have been cleared before anything even had a chance to start.

Before I left that 1980 camp, I made an agreement with Shane that we would write down our own experiences of those two weeks and send them to each other.

I started the moment I got home. I took out my father’s old post war typewriter and wrote a 7 page document on the events. (And also interestingly enough, the light bulb in my room blew out three times during the actual writing, but never before, or after I was done.)

Then I rushed to get it photocopied and mailed it out to Shawn. I waiting for days and weeks for his response, rushing to the letter box each day, but the waiting was in vain.

He never did send anything back. The only feedback I got on it was at the end of that year, where he confirmed he had received it and deemed it ‘too dangerous’.

Also, an odd thing happened with the document. It suddenly vanished, and in spite of turning everything inside out a dozen times, I could not find it anywhere. It only reappeared nine months later, in a bookcase I never used. I still have that original document today.

This was an isolated incident as far as things went with me.

I retell it as a cautionary tale on how easy it can be to attract such things to you.

As intense as this was at the time, it pales in comparison with some of the other things that happened in my life and I really have to admit that it’s made for a very interesting one.

I hope you found my experience of interest.

Next: Who is really responsible for readings?

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Paranormal series: Being adaptable or Swinging like a pendulum.

English: The seconds pendulum, a pendulum with...

One thing I have done several times in the course of my lifetime was change what I actually believe in.

In fact, like a pendulum, I’ve swung back and forth on several subjects as new or compelling experiences or evidence comes up.

Each time I seem to get a bit further, and each time more of the missing puzzle pieces seem to fall into place. What is important is that I need to acknowledge when I am wrong and believe me, it is a blow to the ego because you doubt yourself and call your entire reality, and your own credulity, into question.

Also, when you’re trying to be a credible source, anything that is shown to be wrong can hurt your reputation.

But that is the illusion.

Personally, I’d trust someone who is willing to admit they had it wrong and will take new evidence into account. At least you know they are doing their best to be honest and trying to find out what is really going on.

Of course, there is also the hope and excitement that something really is happening.

What if all those phenomenon are real? What if the house you live in really was haunted or what if we were really being visited by aliens from other worlds?

And the same goes for things such as past lives and the like. Part of us wants it to be real, even if we can’t prove it.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that they are not and I’m not suggesting they are fake either. I’m saying that making things fit to try and prove our case will, in the end, discredit it.

We need to try and remain as objective as possible, and not become attached to results which actually end up proving nothing, or hurting our case.

For instance, for myself, I have either remembered or created past life memories of things that may or may not have happened. I honestly can’t tell you which. I have no way of proving it, and only other psychic people seem to validate them or claim to share certain memories.

But are they making it up, too? Are they fitting their own created thoughts to match mine? There are no easy answers.

I can only go on my feelings, and if something feels right, then I’ll trust in that. However, I should also point out that something can feel mostly right, but you still feel you’re missing part of the story, or you don’t have all the facts.

And that’s where you need to look deeper, and continue researching the answers.

Thankfully, from time to time, I do get validation of certain things I have done and happily they occur before I mention them to anyone.

When I get confirmation of events or memories before I mention them, it helps a lot. I’ve had various people arrive at the same conclusions about who I was without me telling them a thing.

And it helps, yes, but it certainly doesn’t make it sound any saner or believable.

As always, I try to remain critical about things, but accept the evidence as it comes and see how likely other explanations are and hope people aren’t making it up or telling me what they think I want to hear. (Fortunately, there are cases where I know they were not.)

However, one thing I had learned is you should be careful what you wish for, and messing around with the paranormal  can really spiral out of control very quickly and end up becoming a nightmare.

This is the case with people who mess around with Ouija boards, and end up feeling there is something following them around.

The Ouija board is actually a game, however when used as a device to contact spirits, it may produce undesirable results. To date, I don’t think anyone has been able to use one under scientific conditions, making their validity debatable for getting answers, however that does not mean they don’t leave people open for mischievous entities or spirits to cause trouble.

When I was a preteen, I remember we tried to hold a couple of séances. We cut out the letters and numbers, lit candles and messed about with that once or twice. Nothing happened. Nothing ever came of it and it certainly had no impact on my life.

There was one other séance I took part in, though and that in 1980. I was fifteen and got caught up in the excitement of what appeared to be a haunted staircase.  Certainly very odd things happened during a two week period, and no doubt we, as teens, gave it the energy to do so.

As some may find it an interesting story, I’m going to retell it in full over the next week or so and make some observations about those events.

Next: The haunted stairway.