Who qualifies to call himself or …
Who qualifies to call himself or herself a ghost hunter? What does a person have to do to become a ghost …
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Paranormal musings by Peggy Hill
This is a long journal, apparently I have too much time on my hands. It loops back to a relation to DS boards at the end...
What happenes when you create a space crowded with depressed people? Add mental Health issues into the mix, and then what happens? What happens when beliefs outweigh reality? Or when WANTS outweigh NEEDS? Why am I trying to connect paranormal studies with Daily strength participants?
I have an interest in the paranormal, but I am not a believer. That's a nonsense statement, but my interest is more in the psychological and scientific sides. Like many people 
I WANT to believe that there is more than just "this", but I don't NEED more. I love to be scared, to study the ideas-beliefs-rants of ghostly hauntings, or evil demons, or monsters...or people. I guess that I have a fascination with the dark side. I enjoy watching the paranormal shows to break down the influence of belief systems, religion, bad science, group psychology, fear, brain functions, and just plain old social-cultural norms. I have even been caught yelling at the tv.
First, here are a few flaws in what I see on the shows that I frequent...
Ghost Hunters (Sci-Fi Channel): At first, this show was technically interesting. But then they fell into a trap of pseudo-science and HAVING to produce something for the show to stay on the air. A change occured in the way the show was produced, they became more of a reality show. It focused more on the legends, the stories, and setting up equipment than it did on what they captured. With that change also came some suspect "evidence". This year brings a new offshoot "Ghost Hunters International", which offers plenty of feelings and instincts and personality or psychological effects...but little else. Fear influences the way we interpret events. Playing Ghost Hunter in a dark room WILL induce a psychological effect. I always ask: Why does it have to be dark?
Paranormal State (A&E): What started as interesting- quickly de-evolved into a deeply religious show. I have no problem with religion, but the effects of beliefs are a major factor in this show, and they are largely christian beliefs. Demonology, Wiccan rites, psychics, personal
feelings, and terrible voice over drama now litter the show. They (and many false paranormal claims) tend to use a magicians trick called "cold reading". It is a specific way of looking as if you are reading a mind/talking to a spirit when in fact you are asking for or providing the subject with answers. I am 100% anti-psychic, fakes make me very angry. The usual arguement is to quote stats like: so-and-so helped the police find the body...but they don't tell you how many spots they offered, how wrong they were, how much information was given...I don't doubt the brain, I just don't believe in super powers. I do however believe that the brain has more to offer (read below). But the opening graphics are very good. I love the bleeding letters.
MonsterQuest (History channel): So far I still like this show. It presents information in a serious scientific manner, and if the science doesn't match reality- they tend to downplay it's importance to the subject. They present a lot of evidence, and seek out new judgements that are of a seriou
s nature.
I think Monsterquest has what is lacking in many of the other shows- new science, and new evidence. Many shows are using "scientific" methods that were in practice years ago, instead of applying new hypothesis to the events that are a "mystery". On any given day, you can find Bigfoot shows on nultiple channels. But very few go beyond the typical plaster footprint cast, personal eyewitness re-staging, and recorded howling sounds sent to the same "professionals" over and over again. Instead of a dependence upon the standard fare, why not go to the cutting egde of study because in the case of these 2 tried and true methods, they are less than stellar proof.
Ghost orbs: Are well understood in photography (I am a graduate of a recognized photo 
school). The air we live in is littered with dust and debris. Old homes are a snowstorm of dust. Flash photography catches dust and bugs, and lights them up like neon. Here is an example of a "Gettysburg Ghost". Now all those who think this is a "ghost" raise your hand.
EVP (Electronic Voice Phenonmenon): Sound and radio specialists tend to dismiss this as stray waves that are picked up via the frequency of the recorder. On many shows they loop the sound and claim they understand the words. That is similar to our brains filling in designs to make faces. Our brains are designed to make sense of things in terms that we understand.
What do I think about all this?
I have really liked the modern science studies. The idea that certain types of bedrock and limestone given the proper enviroment can act like a recorder gather certain electrical 
charges. Days, weeks, years, centuries later, a re-occurrence of the enviromental effect can re-play the charge (complete with images) into our electric powered brains. That is a cool theory, and one gaining a lot of ground. I also like the correlation of enviroment to mood. 10 years ago seasonal disorders were scoffed at, today we realize that the sun effects our chemistry. Does that mean that all new ideas are right? Hardly, but we know NOTHING about the brain. What may seem crazy should at least go through the scientific progression. If it pans out...great, if not then it goes the way of PHRENOLOGY (the study of bumps on your skull to determine mental health issues) and TABLE RAPPING (spirits that knock on tables to communicate). What we now know will be completely obselete in a decade. That is why our mental health system is so hit and miss. That is why psychiatry and psychology are like a tasting contest. See what works for you, because they are all different. mmm...science.
So...
What I have seen on the Daily Strength is erriely similar to some of the shows on Paranormal events. How you ask?
A) The site gathers those that share similar beliefs and understandings.
B) Groups are created to keep the status quo (or belief system) on track.
C) There are those that use outdated understandings, or false beliefs to confuse/prolong/draw attention to/combat/deal with their moods and challenges.
D) There are complete nutjobs afoot, and a wide variety. I see stalkers, and help/hurt zealots, and obsessive suicide heads.
E) Some people get involved in it all simply for attention.
F) Those that are seeking answers are usually trying new methods, and have to face the scorn of those stuck in their belief systems and viscious cycles.
G) I see discussions on all different methods of management (medication, counseling, coping skills).
H) The truest (or real in my words) people come from all walks of life, and are not so quick to buy into the masses. This is the cure, the discovery and the hope.
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once again, we think alike....we only vary on one fundemental belief, and that is my certain and deep faith in Christ, and an afterworld. I am very interested and learn from different ways of looking at life, and exploration never shakes my belief, only makes me have another look. If you haven't already read it, and you think about it, The Life of Pi to me was an awesome book. Eye opening in a fable kind of way. I like how you think.
hiareth12
Differing on a fundamental belief is not a bad thing. I have said it to you many times, that's what makes small groups strong- varied ideas. No one person, no one group can have all the answers. Letter "H" was just for that idea.
ahg
Exactly, I learn a lot from different beliefs, I learn a lot from you, a new way to view things. I appreciate the differences in us.
hiareth12
Is that ground beef?
I have had psychic experiences. My most developed gift is one that is alerted to the violent or negative energy in an individual and in physical locations . I can be in a building and 'feel' something bad has happened there. I can shake someone's hand and get a sensation like touching death -- an absence of soul - evil.
I have also experienced psychic connection with another individual; knowing if they were home, the state of their emotional and physical health. I knew when my dog died (she was hit by a car) and I was 1600 miles away. I knew exactly when it happened and called my folks for confirmation. I don't have explanations for why these things have happened - and will probably continue to happen - they just are.
guypaul
wow, could that be a highly tuned sense of intuition? which is also kind of psychic?
hiareth12
I like MonsterQuest, although have only seen one episode. It was very interesting.
And what a good point about EVP - because I look at my tile, and even grains of wood to connect pictures in them. I used to do it a lot when I was a kid. My eldest was doing it, and got me started again. haha
This was a fun and interesting journal entry, and I find your thoughts very intriguing. It makes me wish I could hear you say this in person. :D Meaning: You'd be fun to talk to and spend time with.
I believe we had a ghost in our house in California. I believe these are souls that didn't know the Lord, but didn't deny him either. They still can turn toward God - they still have a choice. But I don't believe that any of them are ever children as so many shows tell us that they are children. I believe little children go straight to Heaven.
Anyway, we had a series of strange happenings in the house back in CA. It started when I was pregnant with the twins, and then after I brought them home it continued. I was changing one of them, and I just knew someone was looking over my shoulder. But I was home alone with the babies. I looked over my shoulder, and no one was there, but right then a stuffed animal was knocked off of a shelf. I meekly put it back up. Then another time something hit the front door very loudly, and it had to have been from the inside, because if it had been from the outside, I would have heard the flimsy screen door rattling, and it didn't. I tried and tried to rationalize that it was a bird, or some strange person doing a strange doorbell ditching. But, I would have heard that noisy screen door had it been from the outside. I also heard a series of bumps and loud pops that seemed out of thin air. Then one night, my goody-bag from the OB doctor from when I found out I was pregnant was dumped on the floor in a clumsy-loud crash from a shelf in the closet, and there was no logical explanation because it was sitting solidly on a shelf and had been there for months. What the bishop from our church said to do is - walk through the house, reading Psalm 91 aloud. We also sprinkled holy water around in the rooms and prayed for any bad spirits to flee. (I'm not afraid of spirits meaning no harm) And when I was alone in the room where most of the stuff happened (the bag, the over the shoulder and stuffed animal) which was the babies' room, I prayed for the spirit's salvation and also said aloud - go to the light, go home to God. After all of that, not one thing ever happened again. Even I would think that these things could have been in my head, especially with my hormones in the state they were.... but in all logic, I seriously believe there was a spirit wanting attention of some kind.
GP - I have ahd similar psychic experiences. I could sense things that already happened. Sometimes I knew the truth before it had to be told to me. I also used to know when my best friend (from the time we were 2) stayed home from school or not from the next state. I too, can sometimes tell when I should be wary of someone who is 'bad' or dabbles in 'bad'. Strange things like that.
The paranormal is a very interesting subject indeed.
Trying2BeBetter
Sylvia Browne says that ghosts don't harm intentionally. It's possible for a poltergeist to get a little crazy and for someone to be caught in the crossfire, but harm to living beings in not their goal.
hiareth, intuition does explain my experiences, though intuitively knowing when someone dies in an accident is as close to being psychic as I want to be.
guypaul
In my parents bathroom the tile have portraits of:
Lech Walesa (really bad phonetic spelling job)
Bernadette Peters
and some angry man face...
must be the work of satan.
ahg
GP...no Sylvia Brown. I am firmly in the Camp of the Amazign Randi (her anti-christ debate partner on Larry King)
TB...intersting idea that ghosts have "choices" It makes sense in the framework of religion. Just to ponder (not to debate) what if there was no religion in the discussion? Imagine that it did not exist...what then is a spirit or ghost? Once you put into play "ghosts" then you have to accept religion, demons, and a whole host of other ideas. I like pondering that, but I am outside the camp.
ahg
Any mention of Bernadette Peters puts you firmly inside the camp. (Though I don't believe I have ever heard her mentioned in the same sentence as Polish labor unions and the Devil.)
Sylvia Browne is Christian and psychic, and there are many who do not believe the two can co-exist. I don't see a conflict, but I do wonder how much of her own fantasies and hopes are wrapped up in her perception of life outside of a corporeal existence.
guypaul