Saturday, December 27, 2008

Paranormal-Communicating with the Dead

EXPLAINING LIFE’S MYSTERIES

By Stephen Ellis

Nobody asked me, but…

One of the most puzzling aspects of paranormal activity is how to communicate with the dead. If, as I have said in numerous other blogs, the dead are still living, but in another or different dimension, technically, communication should be impossible. Yet, there are numerous claims of people who believe they have communicated with dead loved ones, and many of these people are of the type you would never, ever suspect of giving misleading information. As recounted in another blog, I wrote about a girl who told me her dead father came to her and gave her the location and numbers of a bunch of different, foreign, bank accounts that neither she nor their family lawyer knew about.

By communicating with the dead, I give very little credence to showmen like John Edwards or Alion Duboise who will go to a mass audience and, allegedly, speak to their dead relatives or loved ones. These people are showmen and their audiences are full of “plants” (actors who will pretend that their loved ones are whatever the “medium” says). Although I have never gone to one of their performances, I seriously doubt that they can communicate with the dead as they claim.

In fact, the master magician, Harry Houdini, offered any medium $10,000 who could prove that he/she could communicate with the dead. In those days, $10,000 was worth about the same as $250,000 today, and there were a lot of “mediums” who tried…but none were successful. However, we must remember the axiom I often repeat: “If you do not believe something, no amount of proof will change your mind.” Maybe…just maybe…some of these so-called “mediums” had something real, but since Houdini was able to duplicate some of the “medium’s” efforts with the aid of props, Houdini discounted their entire performance. I guess we’ll never really know.

Yet, communication with the dead is not only possible, I believe it happens all the time! Sometimes we recognize it, and sometimes we don’t. It’s just that I am unconvinced that so-called “mediums” can do it, at will, especially for strangers in the audience.

My research into the paranormal indicates strongly that any communication between a living and a dead person would have to be with someone with whom you had a strong bond. How many people do you know of who believe…no, will actually swear…that have been “visited” by a dead wife or husband or by a child or a parent, etc. These “visitations” always seem to come when you are asleep…usually in dreams, although sometimes the visit continues when you have awakened. If you stop to analyze it, there is an excellent reason for this:

I have often talked about our “mind” and “aura”. When you sleep, your body is, effectively, dead to the world. But your mind and aura are working full blast. You dream of things, places and people you’ve never met, but you can see them in such detail as to swear you were there, in person. I don’t want to appear repetitious, but evidence indicates that both the mind and the aura are in a different dimension than our bodies: we can’t see them, touch them, smell them, taste them or hear them. What we hear is merely our own voice. When the voice you hear in your head is not your own, there’s an excellent chance that someone…something…or some force is putting it there.

Even scientists agree that they have never found a physical location for the mind.

So, it becomes logical to assume that much of what we visualize and hear when we are sleeping is really coming from another dimension…a dimension that may be trying to communicate with us, but has difficulty in breaking-down the dimensional barriers. It also becomes logical to assume that, because of the dimensional barriers, someone or something trying to communicate with you may use things they know that only you and they shared…like music. Suddenly a song, or music, will pop into your head when you are sleeping (sometimes when you are awake, you can’t shake it out of your head). Often the music will be songs that you haven’t sung or heard for years. But the lyrics of these songs may well be a message a dead loved one is trying to send to you.

The other morning I woke up and a song sung by a campfire in a summer camp (when I was 10) was going through my mind. I hadn’t heard or sung that song for more than sixty years…yet the lyrics came back to me, and I stopped to analyze the reason “why”. The only person I knew in my lifetime that shared the song with me was my brother (who died two years ago). I realized that it must be a communication from him. The lyrics were peaceful and beautiful…and it told me that all was well with my brother.

Who among us has not had a song pop into his/her head while they were asleep? A song that you haven’t heard for years and years? I firmly believe it is a form of communication from someone who has great difficulty communicating in spoken language. Sometimes the lyrics of that song will convey a message to us. But the lyrics of a song seldom tell a full story, so you have to analyze what the message is meant to convey.

The dead are not dead! Only their bodies are dead. The journey past life is a continuing one and, with practice, I believe we can gain much from the messages sent to us while our bodies are asleep.

As I said…nobody asked me.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

A Word About Religion and Faith Healing

EXPLAINING LIFE’S MYSTERIES

By Stephen Ellis

Nobody asked me, but…

Some people call me an historical "scholar". In truth, I have studied history extensively, but am far from deserving the rank of "scholar". One of the problems of researching recorded history is that it does not jibe with our Bibles. I use the plural term "Bibles" because there are more than a hundred different versions of the Bible in print today. It just doesn't make sense to me that the "Word of God" should be so different in so many books.

The Bibles, however, are a source of many paranormal beliefs and occurrences.

Normally, I try to stay away from discussions of religion because, to many, it is a very sensitive subject. Recorded history does not tend to support any specific religion and, accordingly, citing historical records is sure to upset some people…and has even been known to get violent reactions in some of the more fervently religious people. Why should I go out of my way to upset someone?

Religious beliefs can be a very beautiful thing (witness Christmas and Easter) or it can be a horrible thing (witness the Christian Crusades or the present Islamic Jihads).

Yet, many of the superstitions and beliefs about Heaven and Hell, etc. are of religious origin…as are beliefs about a life after death, an immortal soul, reincarnation, numerous claims of “miracles”, etc. Don't ask me to be the one to say that Jonah was not swallowed by a giant fish, or that Noah did not restart civilization by bringing two of every species aboard his Arc, or that Jesus did not walk on water. If these are things you believe with fervent passion, so be it. Historical documentation may offer strong proof that these things never happened, but if you don’t want to hear or appreciate what the historical records show…that’s up to you. "Belief" is a very individual thing. There are still people…state leaders…in Iran and Pakistan who do not believe the Holocaust ever happened. No amount of proof is going to change their minds.

If you do not believe something, no amount of proof will ever change your mind. If you believe something, no proof is necessary.

The thing is, there are a lot of logical explanations for many of the things we have come to accept on faith alone. i.e. The “aura” discussed in several previous blogs could well be what religious leaders call an “immortal soul”. The Hindu concept of “reincarnation” could very well be the “aura” finding another body to surround.

I do have to laugh at some of the ridiculous Pentecostal Evangelists' “fire and brimstone” sermons in which they talk about the Devil and horrors of Hell. Although the concept of Heaven and Hell was mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, the “Devil” was not created until 1308 AD in Dante’s “The Divine Comedy”. This classic poem was the first writing to create a “Devil” in charge of Hell. Dante gave him Neptune’s trident and a stingray’s tail…and the “Devil” was born.

Dante’s “Inferno” was the first description of Hell ever made. That’s why I have to laugh when Evangelists imply that the Devil and the horrors of Hell are a part of the Bible. Nonsense! These things were created a thousand years after the Gospels were written.

Another of many Evangelists' ridiculous tricks is so-called “faith healing”. This is when someone with an (ostensibly) incurable disease is brought to the Evangeist who cures them in a matter of minutes by making them repeat that they love Jesus. While more than 99% of what you see on TV is done by “plants” (actors who pretend illness), there is, seriously, a lot of merit and historical support to “faith healing”. For many years, “faith healing” was an accepted medical practice, and there are thosands of cases on record of “incurable” diseases that have been wholly cured through faith healers.

Faith healing is one of those “mysteries” of life that I will tackle in future blogs.
It’s interesting to note that when the medical profession first became a “profession” back in old England, the all-male-dominated profession passed laws prohibiting a woman from ever practicing medicine. Most faith healers, throughout history, have been women and faith healers had to go “underground” for fear of being arrested and jailed. In Spain, during the Inquisition, any woman practicing faith healing was arrested and charged with “Heresy” (denial of God) and most were put to death...after a week or two of unimaginable torture. So, the art and magic of faith-healing quietly went underground…until recently.

Now the (not-so-male-dominated) medical societies have begun to extensively research faith healing and many physicians now have faith-healer associates.

As I said, nobody asked me.

Stephen Ellis

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

EXPLAINING LIFE’S MYSTERIES

By Stephen Ellis

The Enterprise
Posted Dec 12, 2008 @ 06:53 AM

Last update Dec 12, 2008 @ 07:34 AM

News: Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson are Roto-Rooter plumbers that have hit the big time in the paranormal world by investigating ghostly accounts. The Sci Fi channel is reporting all time record ratings with Hawes and Wilson’s show “Ghost Hunters,” which airs on Wednesday nights and has for the last four years.

Hawes and Wilson have been investigating spectral nuances for over ten years when Hawes and Wilson founded The Atlantic Paranormal Society, better known as TAPS. The group has investigated everywhere from private homes to retired US naval ships. They use the scientific method to collect data, examine and debunk experiences as much as possible. But there are other times when no earthly explanation can be given and this leaves one to wonder what else it could be? Could it actually be a visage from the other side of the veil?

Nobody asked me, but…

The principals from a very successful TV show “Ghost Hunters”, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, are going to visit Taunton, MA, the home of the newly formed paranormal society “The Bayside Paranormal Center”.

It is impossible for me to predict what, if anything, the “Ghost Hunters” will find. In all probability, they will find little or nothing. This is not to suggest that there is no paranormal activity going on in Taunton, but I feel strongly that the use of electronic devices will not provide any significant proof. In the four years of successful TV, the “Ghost Hunters” have found little to confirm or deny the existence of ghosts.

In my opinion, they are searching in a way that cannot succeed.

“If”, as I have tried to explain numerous times, ghosts, UFOs and other paranormal phenomena emanate from a different dimension, there are no devices or electronic equipment we know of that can measure their activities or their presence to any significant degree except at very specific moments.

People have called my blogs “analytical”. “realistic” and sometimes plain “crazy”. But, I have seen a ghost…or at least something that defies any other rational explanation. In my first blog I told of what happened in San Francisco when I, unwittingly, occupied an apartment where a girl had been murdered. The “ghost” or “apparition” I saw was meaningless to me until, several weeks later, I saw her photograph and she was identified to me as having been murdered in that apartment. Please read or re-read my first blog for details.

Did I communicate with that ghost or apparition? No.

Did it dissolve or take some ghostly form? No.

One moment it was there and the next it was gone.

Could it have been my imagination? Absolutely. Until, several weeks later I saw her photo and identified her as the person I had seen in my room. It was then…and only then…that I began to realize what I had seen.

An important fact that I don’t want to skip-over is that she was “there one moment and gone the next”. What conceivable thing(s) do we know of on Earth that can do that? The answer is a clear “nothing”. Thus, in my search for answers, I began to think about different “dimensions” that we cannot sense with any of our five senses. As far-out as this may seem, it began to provide reasonable and logical explanations and answers to a lot of paranormal happenings and mysteries I had read about and encountered as an individual. Who among us had not had a déjà vu experience? Logically, and within our limited perception of our five senses, this cannot happen. But expand your thinking to allow for a sixth sense...or different dimension...and most déjà vu experiences can make good sense.

The appearance of a ghost, in living form, can only occur when circumstances are right…and we, apparently, have no control over those circumstances. It’s like the appearance and disappearance of UFOs. When conditions are right, lots of people see them…but we can never control when or where that time may be. How is it that your phone can ring and you know, before answering it, that it’s someone you haven’t seen for a long time?

And that’s the problem with “Ghost Hunters”. If the time is right, they may be able to see and measure fantastic changes as something from another dimension enters our dimension. But they cannot control when or where that time may be. Ghost hunting can be a very frustrating experience.

Notwithstanding that, they have an interesting show and it would be worth your time to watch an episode or two.

As I said…nobody asked me.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

British Ghosts

EXPLAINING LIFE’S MYSTERIES

By Stephen Ellis

News: The Durham Journal
An investigation is to be carried out into ghostly goings on at a community centre. The North East-based Esoteric Paranormal Investigations team will visit the Mainsforth & District Community Centre in Ferryhill, County Durham. The team said that incidents at the centre have included: : Unexplained temperature fluctuations: Spectacular light anomalies on photographs, videos and seen by the naked eye: Unexplained strange noises – bumps, groans and voices: Strange smells which come and go: Doors opening and chairs folding of their own accord: Tables which move around the room: The centre was built as a miners’ welfare hall in 1927. Anne Piper, who lives in Gateshead and is coordinator of the investigations team, said: “It is an unusual location. “When it comes to paranormal activity, people don’t think of buildings like that.”

BRITISH GHOSTS

While Great Britain does not have any exclusivity on ghosts, Great Britain does lay claim to having more ghosts (or reports of ghosts) per square foot than anyplace else in the world. England even offers tours of haunted castles.

The last time I was in England (being the curious cat that I am), I took one of the tours of haunted castles. We were taken to several castles of varying ages where we did hear strange sounds such as chains clanging and doors opening and closing. In one case I heard voices apparently coming out of nowhere. But, being a realist, I am well aware that almost invisible microphones and speakers can be hidden away…especially in walls made out of mortared stone, and I was duly unimpressed.

Except for one thing…

We were shown into what used to be a bed chamber (a master bedroom in our parlance), and we were told to stick our hand over a certain spot near the middle of the room. It’s what our guide called a “cold spot”. The guide said that many of the haunted castles have them.

The spot was round and about six inches in diameter…and it was cold! The temperature inside the room was about 70-degrees Fahrenheit (it was during the summer), but as my hand entered spot, the temperature in the spot was no more than 30 degrees Fahrenheit. As my hand passed through it, the temperature returned to normal. Again and again, I passed my hand through the cold spot. I tried leaving my hand in the cold spot, but I couldn’t do so for very long as it was just too cold and it was starting to freeze my hand and wrist. I bent down to the floor and it was exactly the same thing. I stood on a couple of stone blocks and reached up to the ceiling. The same thing. Although I had no tools to precisely measure the diameter of the spot, it appeared to be the same size and shape at the ceiling as it was on the floor.

It was a very puzzling thing: If were just a normal inlet of cold air, it would be expected to spread out into the rest of the room. It would be expected to expand as it got higher up towards the ceiling. But it remained in the narrow cylinder from floor to ceiling.

I examined the floor and the ceiling, and there were no significant cracks or holes through which cold air could come. More important, there was no wind or movement of the air inside the cold spot, so I was absolutely certain nothing was blowing up or down. I walked through the cold spot several times and it was just as if I was walking through a transparent cylinder of ice.

Naturally, I asked the guide to explain it. His response was classic: "You've got to expect things like this. This is a haunted castle!"

I gave this cold spot a lot of thought on my way back to London. There was no rational, reasonable or scientific explanation for it, so I decided to try and seek some explanation that was not rational. The only thing I could come up with was the word “portal”.

If you believe in different dimensions, such as I do, the term “portal” refers to a crack or small opening in that mysterious wall or fabric that separates dimensions. An entryway to another dimension that our limited five senses can't perceive. How it can be used or applied is a totally different matter, but I do believe it is possible that I was touching a small opening to another dimension. Who or what uses that entryway or if it can be used by mortal people goes beyond my limited abilities of analysis and clear thinking. But I was experiencing a physical impossibility: Every single law of physics is violated...for a cylinder of air, approximately six inches in diameter unchanged from floor to ceiling...to be forty degrees colder than anything around it. Interestingly, the cold stayed within that cylinder and did not drop the temperature in the rest of the room.

For those people who do not believe in or accept paranormal possibilities, I strongly recommend a haunted castle tour in England.

As I said, nobody asked me.