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Paranormal articles
The following articles have been provided by visitors to my website unless otherwise stated, some were written by myself and represent my view or opinion. If you are a paranormal investigator or just a paranormal enthusiast and would like to submit an article please email me.
- Ghost Hunting with dowsing
rods
- Provoking
ghosts
- Orbs: What are they?
- Ouija board! Toy or
dangerous?
- Proving the paranormal
Ghost hunting with dowsing rods.
Dowsing has been around for centuries it has been used for finding water and other natural elements, as in ore and precious gem mining. It is also called rhabdomancy which the dictionary defines as: (from the Greek) Divination by means of a wand or rod, especially for discovering underground water or ores.
Dowsing or divining can be used for finding many different things and in our present day it has been used by; oil refineries, farmers, well drillers, treasure hunters and police detection use. Dowsing has been used by the military during World War II and the Viet Nam war for finding enemy targets. It was widely publicized and met with excellent success rates.
Today the dowsing rod is very popular in ghost hunting and more!
By looking at the method in which the rods works you can compare them to sophisticated electronic equipment for detecting energy fields. You can test their sensitivity by using them along with an EMF meter (electromagnetic field detector). Your rods will move to detect physical manifestations that require an amount of energy, just like an EMF meter. The nice thing about your rods is, it cannot experience battery energy drain like an EMF meter!
Quantum physics teaches us that everything in the universe is a mass of molecules that vibrate and has an energy field. Even the very thoughts in your brain, are waves which is an energy field that can be measured. Every bit of energy vibrates and puts out waves which can be measured in one way or another. Your divining rods can pick up and detect these fields when trained to tune into the vibration, just like a tuning fork.
Practicing with your Rods to learn the signals that alert you to energy
Your rods may indicate an energy field by crossing for positive and open wide for negative. The action of crossing or open or bobbing up and down is a personal preference in which you train your rods. Practice with them so you know what they are indicating. I use my rods to cross for positive and open for negative. You may even use a bobbing action it's all up to you
- You must tune into your sixth sense when approaching your new dowsing skill.
- Then Practice, practice, practice is the most important part of dowsing>
Let's start with water:
Think of what you are attempting to find, tune into its
vibration. Throw a water bottle or cross a watering hose
and see how your rods react to the positive vibration of
water. Try it on various wells or hoses that you know are
there and practice this until you see the reaction you
get. Then move on to electricity and again think, tune
and then find. Use an electrical cord or go outside and
find your overhead or underground electrical lines going
to the house.
Try finding lost objects like your keys, tune into its vibration then find. Hide in a room and have someone hide the object for you. Then think about where it is. You should come out of the room thinking of its tune and vibration. Pay great attention to the signals, finding a lost object (this includes treasure) you will have to follow the very subtle direction points made by your rods. Go slow taking one step at a time. You may notice that only one rod will point you in the proper direction this is normal. After success and practice you will be able to move swiftly to find your target but go slow at first.
When you have the basics down go ghost hunting with your local paranormal group or on a ghost tour with your rods and see what they indicate.
Enjoy! Gail Sheldon or Hotpepperdude on ebay!
Provoking Ghosts.
I'm not a ghost hunter, nor am I a paranormal investigator. I have never been on a ghost hunt and I know absolutely nothing about how one would go about hunting ghosts, other then what I have seen on TV programs like Ghost Hunters or any of the numerous other programs of that nature. And I don't suppose these ghost hunter programs really depicts what happens on a real ghost hunt because so much has to be edited for time constraints and entertainment value. I suppose staying up all night with the hopes of seeing or capturing an image of an apparition could be quite boring, but I also suppose that if the ghost hunter is fortunate enough to see or actually capture that apparition or ghost on film or with a digital camera, would be quite exhilarating. But I also think that there is one ethical question that I think should be considered when investigating the paranormal, or hunting ghosts. I am not going to give up my basic beliefs and skepticism about the existence of ghosts and the paranormal, but like the web address of this site indicates I am open minded enough to believe that ghosts may be real, and possibly do exist.
Therefore, for the sake of the argument on the ethical question I have, I am going to make an assumption that ghosts are real and do exist. And if I make the assumption that ghosts are real then I must also assume that these ghosts or spirits are probably the souls of people no different than you or I. People who once walked the earth, and are now deceased.
The ethical question I have in mind is this. Is it ethical for a ghost hunter, to go into a supposedly haunted location, and use tactics such as taunting, provoking or similar techniques in their attempts to make contact, get EVP's or photographic evidence of any entities, ghosts, or spirits who may reside there? If we make this assumption, and the paranormal investigators go into a private home, one that may have been occupied at one time by a person who had passed away and now haunts or resides in that same home or building, as he or she once did in life. And let us also assume that this spirit or ghost does not realize they are deceased for some reason, or simply that it is comfortable in their surroundings and feels that they are home, and these ghost hunters come in and start using the tactics of provoking and taunting. How would you feel if some beings came into your home and started taunting, and provoking you into contacting them? Wouldn't you feel that these beings were trespassing on your privacy? And perhaps even your right to exist.
I wonder if these ghost hunters believe that a person loses all rights to privacy and dignity, because they have passed away and now exist in the realm of the spirit world? Whatever happened to the idea of letting the dead rest in peace? If you haven't watched the movie The Others with Nicole Kidman than I suggest you do so. The end of the movie has a pretty strange twist, but it does give an idea on what ghosts or spirits may feel or believe about themselves. I don't see anything wrong with the idea of attempting to contact the ghosts or spirits that may be haunting a particular residence or location, but I do believe that if these entities are real and do exist than I also believe they have the right to be treated with the same dignity and respect that you would treat a living person in their own home. Some of these paranormal investigation groups seem to treat the ghosts or spirits, if they exist as if they don't deserve the same respectful treatment you would give to that same person if they were still alive.
I have also come to understand that some of these ghost hunters think this practice of taunting an evil spirit has an element of danger to it. They seem to think that if they provoke an inhuman or demonic ghost then they are more likely to be attacked. Let me say this, first of all I don't believe in demonic ghosts at all. Evil spirits may exist, simply because evil people exist. And when evil people die, perhaps they become the evil spirits. But I don't think it matters whether the ghost is malevolent, benevolent or neutral, if a paranormal investigator goes into a building that a ghost may consider it's home, then I think they should expect to get attacked if they use such tactics as provoking. If they came into my home and started provoking me, I know damn well I would attack with all the force I could muster. including perhaps even using a weapon if I had one at my disposal. To sum all this up, I think paranormal investigators should treat ghosts, if they exist with the same amount of dignity and respect you would show a living person in their home. If these entities are real they deserve no less.
By Martin Burns openmindedskeptic.net
Orbs, what are they?
Orbs, it seems to me, is one of the most controversial phenomena that ghost hunters, or paranormal investigators deal with. And from what I have been able to gather by researching them on the internet, is that most paranormal investigators now dismiss most photographs or images of orbs as nothing but dust particles, insects, pollen or moisture droplets that happen to show up, primarily on images that are created with digital photographic equipment while using a flash. However there are also some paranormal investigators who still adhere to the belief that some of these orbs are evidence of paranormal activity, and perhaps even of spiritual energy itself.
I have to admit, that I am a fan of paranormal television. And two of the most popular of this type of programming is Ghost Hunters on the SyFy channel, and Ghost Adventures on the travel channel. Ghost hunters, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson have a tendency to dismiss almost all images of orbs as dust, moisture or anything but paranormal. I think they do this to help squelch some of what the critics and skeptics may say and make themselves look more analytical and scientific in their approach. Whereas the other group with Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin also dismiss most orbs as dust particles or some other non paranormal phenomena, but sometimes their so called evidence shows balls of supposed energy or orbs going into their heads, bouncing off their backs or even attacking them. One of their earlier episodes filmed at the Goldfield Hotel in Goldfield Nevada, even shows a sphere of energy or orb that almost looked as if it was caressing Zak Bagan's arm.
I personally have to agree with most paranormal investigators. I think that almost all images of orbs are created by a digital cameras flash, reflecting light off of objects like dust particles, pollen, snow or moisture in the atmosphere. I think the ones that cannot be explained by this hypothesis are probably created by some natural phenomena akin to ball lightning. Ball lightning itself is also a debatable phenomena by scientists because of the problems of trying to recreate it under laboratory conditions. However many scientists do believe that it is real because of the number of reports of the phenomena during electrical, or thunder storms. I think ball lightning has something to do with a sudden, unexplainable accumulation of ions in the atmosphere interacting with the earths natural magnetic field, when the conditions are just right. But I'm no physicist, so I'll leave that to them.
I have seen a lot of images of orbs and of all these images that I have seen,, this one is perhaps the most compelling. Compelling that it is something other than dust, pollen, insect or something of that nature. It appears to be emanating it's own light because of the reflection of the object off the floor. This photo was taken with a digital camera without flash. Could it have been doctored with Photoshop? I suppose! I am not a photographer nor am I an expert using photoshop. But even if this image is of a genuine orb or sphere of energy, that is still not proof that it is a ghost or spirit, although I would definitely consider it paranormal, because it is not normal to have spheres of energy running around your home. If you would like to see a closer view of this image please click on the image itself.
By Martin Burns openmindedskeptic.net
Ouija board! Dangerous toy?
There seems to be quite a bit of controversy as to whether the Ouija board, or as it is also known as the talking board, spirit board or even witch board, is simply a toy, or if there is some sort of danger attached to it's use. Danger from evil spirits or demonic forces. Danger that these entities could possibly attack the user or users on a spiritual level.
The history of automatic writing using an oracle or planchette goes all the way back to approximately 1000 years BC in China. The modern version of the Ouija board, was introduced in the latter part of the nineteenth century by the toy maker Parker Brothers, and was distributed and sold primarily as a toy.
Some religious denominations, especially mainstream Christians, believe that using the Ouija board can lead to demonic possessions. And these Christian groups also believe that when you do use the Ouija board your actually communicating with demons, not with the souls or spirits of people who may have passed on. And even some occultist believe that it's use can open portals or doors to the spiritual realm and allow ghosts, demons and evil spirits to enter our realm of existence and haunt, possess or in some other way harm or annoy anyone who may have used the Ouija board.
In my opinion this is all bunk! The Ouija board is nothing but a toy. If the oracle moved on it's own, without being touched, then perhaps I would believe it has some mystical powers. But because it has to be touched with the fingertips of the people performing the séances, I think it is nothing but someone, either intentionally or subconsciously moving it. And I believe that if there is any danger attached to it's use, then I believe it comes from the subconscious psychology and fears of the person or people using it. If the individual or individuals who are using it, sincerely believes they are communicating with ghosts or spirits, than I suppose it wouldn't take too much more to make them also believe that they may have become possessed by these ghosts or spirits. Especially if they believe it is sinful or evil to be even using the device in the first place.
Like I have said elsewhere on this web site I do not claim to know all the answers to things that are related to the paranormal. It is entirely possible that I am completely wrong and totally off base on this subject. Perhaps it is possible that evil spirits, demons or even the devil himself could possess your soul if you use the Ouija board, but I think this is highly unlikely. It's just a toy!
By Martin Burns openmindedskeptic.net
Proving the paranormal! A fools quest?
Is it possible to prove the paranormal, and the existence of ghosts? Can it be demonstrated scientifically that the spirit or personality of a person transcends death? Is it possible to prove, even to the most ardent skeptics or even to an open minded skeptic like myself, that ghosts are real and do exist? To be perfectly honest, I don't know if it is possible to prove, in any sort scientific manner the reality of the supernatural and paranormal. It may be possible to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that ghosts are real. Proof that might be acceptable in a court of law, proof that may be beyond a reasonable doubt, proof that might convince the majority of people and perhaps even most scientists that the paranormal is the normal.
Paranormal investigators, rely on a number of scientific instruments in their quest to document and provide evidence of the paranormal. Some of the instrumentation they rely on and use in their investigations are common and some, not so common. The following list includes most, but I am sure not all of the items used in by most paranormal researchers. I am not a paranormal researcher myself, therefore this list may be incomplete, there may be other instruments used that I am not aware of. If you are a paranormal investagator and know of other intrumentation that is used in this type of investation, I would appreciate your letting contacting me, and let know about it and what it is and what it does.
- Digital cameras
- Digital and analog voice recorders
- Digital and analog camcorder's
- Infrared Illuminators
- EMF meters
- Probe type thermometers
- Infra Red cameras (FLIR)
- Full spectrum cameras
- K-II meters
- Night vision goggles and scopes
- Geiger counters
Even with all this instrumentation at their disposal and with many years of researching the paranormal, not one irrefutable piece of evidence has ever been put forward, one that proves conclusively the existence of ghosts or any other paranormal phenomena. Does that mean it is impossible to prove? I don't think so! If the paranormal is real and ghosts really do exist then I believe it is possible to prove, prove in a way that would convince even the most ardent skeptics and scientists that the paranormal is real. But I sincerely believe that the ghost hunters or investagators must make some very basic changes in their approach to the investagations.
By Martin Burns openmindedskeptic.net
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