Farewell to 2010

I don't have anything to post except that I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve.  May we see in 2011 the fulfillment of our goals and may we bask in health and happiness.  Thank you to everyone that keeps coming back to read what I have to write.  Stay safe everyone.

I would also like to say that I probably won't be posting every single day in the coming year.  I would like to focus more on quality than on quantity and I think that the blog will be better for it.  I'd like to go more in-depth on topics and in order to do this I will have to cut back my posting frequency.  It is sometimes very difficult to come up with a post every single night and I think that it shows.  This said, I'm planning to post at least once a week; hopefully more often.

Have a great time tonight and here's an early "Happy New Year!"

Project Phoenix - Psychotronic Weapons

Declassified STAR GATE/Phoenix Memos

These memos suggest that as part of the US government's psychic spying efforts under Project STAR GATE there was also a psychotronic weapons project going on.  Psychotronic devices, in a nutshell, work to amplify psychic abilities.  We can only wonder what devices these memos are referring to or what their specific functions may have been.  It would interest me to learn if these devices were any more advanced than the typical crystals-hooked-up-to-radio-parts you find when searching the Internet for psychotronic devices.

1982 Psychic Spying Research Program Proposal

Word that the US government has made attempts at developing Exceptional Human Functioning (EHF) such as psychic abilities is not really new.  What is new for me is getting to take a look at the declassified documents.  Reading through this stuff makes me wonder where it may have gone and where it could be at the present, as far as advancement of capabilities goes.  I've mentioned before that there's evidence that the NSA started its own psychic spying program after STAR GATE was shut down by the CIA.  This, along with other items of evidence, tells us that the government is still working with psychic abilities in some capacity.

Here is the research program proposal that I'm talking about.

Expect for me to link to and write about more documents like this in the future.

My ambiguous stance regarding some paranormal topics.

I've been told that when it comes to some paranormal topics that I'm very ambiguous about where I stand.  There is a reason for this and it is mostly because I'm not sure where I stand on a lot of things.  I believe that the UFO phenomenon is a reality.  However, I do not know what is causing it.  I believe that Bigfoot may exist but we won't know for sure until we find one.

There are some topics that I'm less ambiguous about because I have more knowledge or experience with them.  ESP and PK are two things that I am a strong believer in as I've seen the research that supports both and I've had personal experiences with both.  Magic(k) is another thing that I believe in (to some extent) as I have some experience with it.  In all of these cases, I don't claim to have the absolute answers of how they work; I just know that they do.

Another reason that I hold to some ambiguity is that I don't want to shove my opinions down other peoples' throats.  I'd rather just give my readers the information and let them decide for themselves (which I hope they do anyway, regardless of how I feel about a topic).

I guess the point of all of this is that if you see that I'm not taking a solid stance on some topic or other that it's not because I don't care about it or don't know anything about the topic; it's because I'm trying to remain as impartial as possible for the reader or because I simply can't say for certain.  Who can really say much for certain about the paranormal anyway?

My final verdict on the mysterious creature in Kentucky.

With some input from a friend and further inspection of the photos, I'm convinced that the creature I discussed in this post is a hairless opossum, probably the victim of the same kind of severe mange that is causing coyotes to be confused with the Chupacabra in other places.  I'm hoping that some official identification will be made by a professional, but I honestly don't expect to hear much more about this.  In case we do ever get an answer, I decided to put my judgment here for the record.

Creepypasta

For those of you that don't know, creepypasta are essentially short horror stories that proliferate on the Internet.  Many of them are uncredited and posted over and over again on anonymous message boards.  Some of them even take on the status of urban legend as they have managed to blur the line between fantasy and reality.  My best guess is that the name derives from "creepy" and "copypasta."

I am not really a fan of creepypasta myself.  I think that this is mostly because these things tend to proliferate on paranormal boards and when I'm on those boards I'd rather discuss actual paranormal things rather than fiction.  Sometimes most of the threads can be creepypasta, attempts at creepypasta, or discussions of favorite creepypasta.  That's when it gets annoying and that's probably why I have no taste for it.

In the future I may end up giving creepypasta a chance as I do recognize the creativity and effort, but right now I just find it a distraction to other pursuits.  For those of you that are interested, I present this link:  http://www.creepypasta.com/.

Mysterious Creature in Kentucky

Mysterious creature found in Nelson County

It looks like another mangy forest creature to me and not a Chupacabra or anything like that.  If I had to take a guess, I'd say it looks like a hairless raccoon and not a bloodthirsty killer of livestock.  No doubt the poor critter is strange looking, but I really don't think it's that much of a mystery.

Lately, whenever a hairless creature that's not immediately identifiable turns up it seems to be labeled as a Chupacabra or some other monster.  It's interesting to note that the original descriptions of the Chupacabra don't match the appearances of these creatures very well at all.

Exorcism and Possession

Exorcism is typically the fare of Hollywood but there is apparently a growing demand for the service as of late.

What happens at exorcism school?

I can see why people would be more inclined to seek exorcism in the current world climate, whether there is a legitimate possession or not.  The above article reassures me as it tells me that Catholic exorcists are actually very levelheaded and don't jump right to the crucifixes and holy water.  This makes me wonder though:  What about possession and exorcism in other faiths?  I'm certain that Catholicism is not the only faith that believes in possession and exorcism.  This would suggest that unwanted possession is a universal human problem.  Perhaps it is faith and personal power that exorcises, no matter where it comes from?

One thing that I take issue with is the notion that delving into the occult opens one up to possession.  This may be true in a sense, as if you are involved with the occult then you are more likely to perform evocations of entities that are commonly called demons.  I'm sure that inevitably some of these go wrong.  However, it's common for every "one true religion" to demonize all the others so this allegation toward occult practice is really nothing new and really nothing to get too upset over.

I've had a bit of a fascination with evocation as of late so I thought I'd write about this related issue.  As an occultist, I find that if you do your homework and cross your t's and dot your i's then you really have nothing to worry about.  Exorcism, in all its forms, is still a very interesting subject that I hope to learn more about.

New Agers converge on a French village; hilarity ensues.

French village which will 'survive 2012 Armageddon' plagued by visitors

The kicker is that they are supposed to survive 2012 because there are aliens under the local mountain that will evacuate when things get bad, hopefully taking some of the New Agers with them.  I know that this really isn't that funny for those poor villagers, but my head is filled with images of stereotypical New Age hippies surrounding the place like its some kind of UFO Mecca and I find it hilarious.  Most of this is fueled by the very descriptions in the article.

Naked men performing rituals on the mountainside, apparently within plain view of the mayor.  Hippies lying around, chanting and meditating in the streets.  I imagine a lot of crystals, patchouli, and tie-dye.  Perhaps the worst part is that all of this apocalypse business is based on misinformation about what the Mayans actually said about 2012.  I'm confident that the villagers will find a way to profit from this and allay their frustrations though.

My overall reaction to the absurdity is represented by the article's photo of the mayor on the outskirts of town, in front of the sign.  Notice his expression and gesturing.  I don't need to be French to understand that.  He's saying "WTF?"  I expect more of this kind of thing as December 21, 2012 gets closer.

Poltergeists: Spirits of the Dead or Uncontrolled Psychokinesis?

Of all ghostly phenomena, poltergeists are the most startling.  Objects move, appear and disappear, and the poltergeist may even lash out at people violently.  The popular notion of the poltergeist is reflected in the meaning of its name:  "noisy spirit."  There are some that believe that poltergeist activity may actually come from a living human being.  How is that possible?  Spontaneous recurrent psychokinesis (RSPK).

The trend in parapsychology in recent years has been to lean toward the RSPK explanation for poltergeist activity.  This makes some sense as poltergeist activity is commonly focused on one person, the activity only present in their vicinity.  This explanation proposes that some individuals, when under emotional distress, will release that tension through psychokinesis.  These people are usually completely unaware that they are causing these strange events and many are terrified of what's happening.  This leads to the belief in a noisy spirit haunting the person or place.

This implies that people are capable of amazing feats of psychokinesis when under stress, but they are not in conscious control of what happens.  This explanation also requires no idea of an afterlife to explain poltergeist activity.  Poltergeist activity, however, is only one small part of the greater realm of ghosts and hauntings.

Then again, maybe both the spirits-of-the-dead and the RSPK theories are accurate.  If a deceased person is able to perform the seemingly impossible feats of a poltergeist then why wouldn't a living person be able to do the same?  I have no preference, myself.  I think that one is just as likely as the other and that they are not mutually exclusive.  I am convinced of the human capacity for psychokinesis and I also find it likely that we continue on in some form after death.  I hope that future research will shed light on both of these subjects.

If you would like to read more about ghosts, poltergeists, and the quest for answers then please see this article.

Is there a greater significance to the lunar eclipse on the solstice?

Most people are probably aware of the lunar eclipse that is in progress as I type this as it's been on the news a lot.  This will be the first total lunar eclipse to coincide with the solstice since 1638.  There's a possibility that the moon may even turn blood red.

I've seen some forum chatter about special magical significances or the like, but I don't really know of anything specific myself.  I was considering using the occasion to empower a ritual tool, but the weather conditions are not favorable for eclipse viewing where I'm at.  In any case, it sets my mind to wondering about the magical possibilities for such a rare event.  There's a lot of symbolism involved.

The Winter Solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere) is the longest night of the year and we have the light of the full moon being covered by the Earth's shadow.  If you are in the Southern Hemisphere then you have the shortest night of the year with a full moon being obscured by the Earth.  I think in both situations there are deeper truths to be pondered when considering the event.

The event itself may hold no power at all, but the power we give to it may be all that's needed to serve whatever purposes we may have.

The eclipse at Space.com

Human Invisibility

Most people have wished to become invisible at some point in their lives.  Whether in a particularly embarrassing situation or trying to do something they perhaps should not do, being invisible would be very useful in many circumstances.  What if you involuntarily and spontaneously became invisible though?

Spontaneous Human Invisibility

What if you could become invisible at will?  I happen to have some ideas about that.  I think that most esoteric or occult methods for invisibility won't make you physically invisible but something more like "psychically invisible."  By that I mean that you simply won't register in the minds of others.  Of course, if you touch someone or talk to them they will probably snap out of it, but that's just me musing on the subject.

I think that if one wanted to try to make themselves psychically invisible then they could try a variation of the shielding technique I give in this post.  That variation would be to imagine you and your aura as transparent, or that you are blending into your surroundings.  Visualize this as you form the shield.  Know that you will be unnoticed.  It's very hard to get any kind of concrete data on how effective this is from the personal perspective, but I've tried it before and it seemed to have the desired result most of the time.  You should probably experiment with the efficacy of this technique before relying on it too much.

Is there a specific center in the brain for telepathy?

Pinpointing the telepathy center in the brain

The study isn't really the best as it has a few problems, but it makes the suggestion that there is a part of the brain that allows for psychic functioning.  I'm unsure about such a specific brain center existing, myself.

Esoteric teaching tells us that the pineal gland (the "third eye" chakra) plays a large part in psychic functioning.  While it does rest near the center of the brain, the pineal gland is part of the endocrine system.  This makes me think that if the pineal gland has anything to do with psychic ability then it is a hormonal release that produces the effect rather than any specific structure.

I happen to think that psychic abilities have more to do with consciousness or the mind as a whole rather than a specific brain area.  We haven't been able to find a "consciousness center" in the brain yet, as far as I'm aware, mostly because we have almost no understanding of how consciousness arises in the first place.  I think that in order to get to the bottom of how psychic functioning works we will have to learn more about consciousness itself.

Stimulus Seekers Do Better on ESP Tests

I finally got around to reading Daryl Bem's paper that I mentioned in this post.  (You can find the whole paper in .pdf format here.)  I have to say that I'm impressed and I'm anxious to see if this paper will have a very large impact.  One thing that it does make more clear is that extroverts (specifically stimulus seekers) seem to do better on ESP tests.  This makes psychological sense based on what we know about cortical arousal and stimulus-seeking tendencies.

This is not the first study to discover this; it builds on earlier work that says essentially the same thing.  So, if you're the type of person that gets bored easily you may do better on ESP tests than an introvert.  I still think we're a while away from unlocking the secrets of psi, but at least this is a start.

How To View Your Aura

Following up on my last post, I'm going to give a very simple method for viewing your own aura (or part of it) with the naked eye.  This will also work for viewing the auras of others.

You will be viewing the aura around your hand and fingers.  In order to make this easier you should get a uniform background to hold your hand in front of.  This makes it easier to make out the aura as objects and textures in the background won't be distracting you.  For simplicity, you could just put a piece of white or black paper on the table and then hold your hand over it when viewing until you get the hang of it.

Now for the good stuff.  Hold your hand (either one works) out in front of the background (if you choose to use a background; it's not absolutely necessary).  Hold your hand there with open fingers (with either the palm facing you or the palm facing away).  Look between your fingers, like you're looking at their outline.  Don't focus your eyes on the background or your hand will go out of focus.  You want to look out from the edge without letting your eyes focus on the background.  It may sound kind of tricky but it's really not.  Moving your hand slowly while you look can make the aura even more obvious.

Your aura won't be as spectacular as fireworks or searchlights.  It can better be described as a haze or a smoke that clings to your skin.  You'll know it when you see it.  It should be noted that you need to make sure that you don't confuse an afterimage for your aura.  Afterimages can result from staring at something for too long and appear as the complimentary-colored outline of what you're looking at.  If the "aura" remains on the background even after you've taken your hand away then it is an afterimage.

You can use this same technique to look at the auras of other people, animals, and even inanimate objects.  Of course, you'll probably need to adjust the distance between you and the subject in order to view their whole aura.  Don't be afraid to experiment with this.  If you're having trouble, sometimes it helps to take a few deep breaths and make sure you're relaxed before you begin.  You may also need to adjust the lighting; very bright light may wash out the aura.  If your eyes are tired or strained then you should rest them and try again later.  Again, be careful not to confuse an afterimage for an aura.  Also, be aware that many people find it impolite to stare, so be careful with that.

A device for viewing the aura?

For those of you that aren't familiar with the concept, the aura is the proposed etheric energy field that surrounds the human body (as well as animals and inanimate objects).  While there are methods for training yourself to view the aura with the naked eye (or at least using the faculty of vision to interpret the sensing of the aura), there exist technological methods that claim to be able to show you your aura or the aura of others.

You may be familiar with aura photographs that are sometimes sold at psychic fairs.  My understanding is that these machines actually determine your skin's electrical conductivity through the apparatus you place your hand(s) on, and then this data is converted into colors which are them superimposed on your photograph.  While this may give some information about your energy field, I don't feel that it shows your true aura.  It is instead an interpretation of what your aura may look like based on a physical property that may or may not have anything to do with your etheric energy field.

The second, and perhaps the most popular, "aura-viewing" technology is Kirlian photography.  An object (usually living) is placed on an electrically charged plate in complete darkness and then a snapshot is taken.  What shows up on the photograph appears to be similar to the concept of the aura; it is light surrounding the physical form and even extending to complete an incomplete physical form.  However, what is captured in a Kirlian photograph is believed to be the coronal discharge of whatever is being photographed.  While interesting, I don't think that these can be said to be true aura images any more than "aura photographs" can.

The third technological method that I'm aware of (and apparently the oldest) is a Kilner Screen.  I had not heard of this device until a few days ago and I have to say that I'm rather excited about it as it seems to be the simplest and most low-tech of all the devices said to be capable of viewing the aura.  It also seems to be the only one capable of viewing what I consider to be the "true aura," (the etheric energy emanating from the body) rather than some spark brought about by electrical charge or some colored photo made by a computer from skin readings.

What is a Kilner Screen then?  It consists of two pieces of glass with a particular dye encapsulated in the middle.  One looks through this screen in order to train the eye to see the aura.  After training, the screen is no longer necessary.  The only drawbacks of this device seem to be the rarity and hazard of the dyes used in making the screens.

I have been able to see auras (when I want to) for a few years now and I don't find it to be particularly interesting.  Some people do though, so for those that are having trouble acquiring the skill with naked-eye methods there is the option of making or procuring a Kilner Screen (or a similar device that doesn't use the nasty chemicals).  To this end, I provide the links below.

The Wikipedia article on Walter Kilner, the inventor of the screens.
A much more in-depth look at Kilner's methods and the aura itself.  (I agree with most of the observations made about the aura as they largely coincide with my own observations.)

Inspiration from Fiction

In various magic and energy working circles one will sometimes encounter people drawing inspiration from a work of fiction.  A symbol from an anime, a spell from a novel, etc.  The opinions on this are most likely varied, but I am of the opinion that it's not necessarily a bad practice.

Many fictional concepts can be developed to work in the real-world, such as being used in an actual spell or energy working technique.  I think that this would be most obvious in Chaos Magic where users are prone to incorporate anything and everything into their practice.  Energy working is another "anything goes" type of practice in which anything that can be imagined can be utilized.

It's important to recognize that you are borrowing or taking inspiration from something fictional though, rather than trying to pass it off as a real tradition.  Drawing symbols to invoke changes in matter is not how real-world alchemy is done, but if you can find something to help you in a fictional representation of alchemy then I see no problem in using it.  It is, however, important to make sure you aren't incorporating detrimental things into your practice.

Then we have the converse of the above:  People mistake real-world concepts for the inventions of fiction.  Examples that come to mind are ki and chakras.  Just as we may take ideas and inspiration from fiction, so do the creators of fiction take ideas and inspiration from real-world occult traditions and practices.  I usually only see this brought up when ignorant people try to deride someone else's practice for being "made-up" or "fake."

You may not be in favor of taking ideas from fiction because of the confusion or derision it can draw.  I happen to be a fan of "If it works, use it," but I most often draw the line at incorporating fiction into serious practice, mostly because of the issues it can cause.  If you do intend to adopt fictional concepts or ideas into your practice, be aware that this won't always be met with a warm reception.

Tin foil hats probably don't protect you from mind control waves.

Conspiracy theorists all over the world are familiar with the tin foil hat, whether they use them or are teased with references to them.  As it turns out, tin (or more accurately aluminum) foil hats and helmets may actually amplify the frequencies fingered as suspect for beaming mind control right into your head.

The idea seems sound at first glance, appearing to work like a Faraday cage for the brain.  The problem is that this headgear does not entirely enclose the head and thus sets up a situation for signals to actually be reflected and amplified by the foil.  The helmets actually amplify frequencies that coincide with those allotted to the US government for GPS and other satellite communications.  They also amplify frequencies reserved for mobile phones.  This information comes from folks at MIT that actually tested it.

On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets: An Empirical Study

The message seems to be that if you are a believer in tin foil hats then you should work on new designs to account for these findings.  Perhaps a more paranoid assessment would be that the government and the multinational corporations actually want you to wear these hats as they actually make it easier for them to beam radio waves into your head.

More information at Wikipedia.

UPDATE: Strange creature in Louisiana is viral marketing.

A friend tipped me off to the fact that the strange creature in Louisiana that various media outlets have been reporting on (and which I did a blog post about a couple of days ago) is a viral marketing image for an upcoming Playstation 3 game.  I knew that the image was too good to be true and I'm glad to see it outed so soon.

Creepy Resistance Viral Spooks Media

Ancient Astronauts

Ancient astronaut theory brings to the forefront archaeological mysteries and posits an extraterrestrial explanation for them.  These mysteries include the pyramids in Egypt (and elsewhere), the Nazca lines, Stone Henge, as well as ancient devices and artifacts that don't seem to fit with what we think we know about ancient civilization.

Of course, all of this ancient astronaut stuff is controversial because it goes against much of what mainstream archaeology has to say while using archaeology to back up its claims.  There are some pretty convincing arguments in either direction but I haven't been convinced one way or the other.

I think that the primary issue is that we perhaps don't give our ancestors enough credit.  They were just as intelligent as we are; they just didn't have the benefit of thousands of years of knowledge.  Is it really that impossible that they could have built immense pyramids on their own?  Then again, maybe they had some help (in the form of technology, knowledge, or both).  Our ancestors most likely had the same strength of imagination as us; could they not have just dreamed up these strange creatures and objects we see in paintings and carvings?

I do think that it's a possibility that we have been visited by extraterrestrials in the past (so does Carl Sagan), but, while there are a lot of mysteries, I don't think any of them point directly to alien visitors or spacecraft.  Plenty of examples can be interpreted in such a way, but, as with most areas of the paranormal, there is little concrete evidence to be found (or at least any that is widely-known).

I think that ancient astronaut theory asks the right questions and provokes discussion of some of the very weird things that we have discovered through archaeology.  However, I'm not sure that it presents absolute proof that we are an alien experiment, that aliens gave us technology or knowledge, or that there are aliens at all.  I think that only time will tell us the truth about that.

Ancient astronauts on Wikipedia.

Strange creature in Louisiana?

There is growing buzz about a picture taken with a hunter's trail camera that shows what appears to be an unearthly creature in the Louisiana woods.  You can get the story here and here.  Naturally, this kind of thing stirs controversy.  Is it real?  Is it a hoax?  Is it a misidentified animal or human?

When I first saw this last night I thought that the backstory was extremely suspicious.  The camera was allegedly destroyed but the data card survived and the hunter wished to remain anonymous.  This alone was enough for me to want to write the whole thing off.  I'll just come out and say that I don't think it's legitimate.  I want more details on the whole thing before I believe there's a ghoul stalking the woods of Louisiana.

Maybe someone with some photo manipulation experience would like to take a look at the photo?

Spoon (and Fork) Bending

Anyone that's interested in psychokinesis is aware of the idea of bending a spoon with your mind.  This has become a stereotype of ESP and PK research/ability.  When I was starting out with psi I tried my hand at bending cutlery using the instructions at forkbend.com, back when it was called fork-you.com.  I'll let you peruse the site and decide whether you want to try it or not.  I just want to leave some pictures of my results; maybe you'll find them motivating.  The three pictures below are of my first successful fork-bending.

The following three pictures are of my first successful spoon-bending.

These two are by far my best attempts.  I've had limited success since but I don't really play with this anymore.  Once I accomplished it a couple of times, I got bored.  In case you want to skip right to the chase, here is the beginning of the how-to at forkbend.com.  Note that I did not do any of this in a group setting.  While it may be easier (as the site suggests), it is not necessary to be in a group the first time.  Good luck!

How To Make a Psi-Ball

A psi-ball is a concentrated ball of your own psychic energy/life force/qi/ki/prana.  It is widely considered as the basic starting point for the practice of psionics.  I'm going to give you a procedure for making a psi ball of your own and you can be the judge of whether there's anything to the idea.

Sit somewhere comfortable, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths to relax.  Once you are completely relaxed and breathing normally (whatever that may be for you), with your eyes still closed, draw your attention to the top of your head.  Visualize and actually feel a large ball of glowing white energy above you.  This energy is infinite.  See (and feel) a beam of energy coming from this larger sphere and entering the top of your head.  As you breathe in draw the energy into yourself.  As you breathe out, feel the energy flowing down your arms to your hands.

Place your hands close together, like you are holding a small ball (five or six inches across) in your hands.  Breathe in the energy and feel it entering you; breathe out and feel it flowing down your arms to your palms.  As you force the energy down your arms and to your hands, force it out of your palms and form a ball with it.  Visualize the ball and feel it forming.  Inhale energy and then exhale it into the ball, making it more concentrated.  Keep pouring energy into the ball in this way; actually feel the energy as you do this.  After a short while you'll feel a very real presence in your palms.  Some people feel this as a tingle, some as a heat sensation, and for some it's like a magnetic repulsion.

I've found that tactile imaging (feeling the energy, not just seeing it in your mind) is more effective for me than simple visualization, but do what works best for you:  visualization, tactile imaging, or both.  It can take some time to get the hang of doing all of these things at once, but practice will make it easier.

And that's how you form a basic psi-ball.  When you get good at this there are lots of ways to expand the practice, such as adding colors or using different shapes.  Even programming the energy to act as a thoughtform is possible once you're proficient.

Levitation

Levitation is typically viewed as the fare of mystics and ascetics that have dedicated themselves solely to their practice and acquire this ability through experience.  Levitation may also be demonstrated by saints or other holy figures.  One has to ask themselves if levitation isn't perhaps an allegory for spiritual attainment.

Another possibility for explaining the phenomenon of levitation is that it is a feeling of levity, rather than actually rising into the air.  I have experienced a sensation of levitation while meditating before.  I felt as if I was floating in the air above where I had seated myself.  However, it was obvious that I had not left the ground when I came out of my meditation.  If I had more skill in this, would I be able to actually levitate?  I don't know.  I've only had this levitation sensation happen once before and I don't meditate as much as I should anymore.

What about true levitation then?  Does it exist or is it just an allegory or symbol for some psychological or spiritual process that is internal?  There are plenty of accounts throughout history from those that have witnessed levitation.  There were many mediums in the days of spiritualism that were said to be able to levitate objects or themselves.  Many of these were proven to be frauds, but there are a few cases that were not so easy to write off.  One such case is that of D.D. Home.  Home had many powers but his most impressive feats were those of levitation; both of objects and of himself.  Home, while accused of being a fraud, was never caught performing any kind of trickery despite being examined by scientists and performing his feats in normal lighting.

Knowing this, I have to say that I don't think that true levitation is impossible.

If you would like to learn more about the feats of D.D. Home then please see this page at paranormal.about.com.  You may also be interested in my post about the siddhis.

The Plethora of Kinetic Abilities

If you hang around in psionics-oriented forums and communities for very long you will eventually see such fancy terms as "pyrokinesis" or "electrokinesis" or even "geokinesis."  I can understand the desire to want to differentiate between things that you may be affecting with terms specific to the substance.  However, I think that there comes a certain point when it becomes cumbersome and unnecessary.  All of this is why I prefer the umbrella term of psychokinesis.

Thinking about it logically for a second, all of these abilities consist of you using your mind to control or move something.  This would qualify them all as psychokinesis.  I just don't see the reasoning behind giving a fancy name to every particular way you could possibly use psychokinesis.  In my opinion, if you can move one thing with psychokinesis you should have the same ability to move another substance unless there's some kind of psychological block in place.

Words like "pyrokinesis" are convenient for telling people that you're working on  manipulating fire through psychokinesis.  Terms like "atmokinesis" or "aerokinesis" seem to overlap, as I imagine there would be a lot of air manipulation going on if you were manipulating the atmosphere.  Because of this, I just think that sometimes it's superfluous to use these terms.  I have nothing against people that use these terms, but they probably shouldn't be surprised when others have to ask "What is that?" and the practitioner has to explain it anyway, perhaps defeating the purpose of the specialized term.

In summary, I don't really care much for it.  I prefer to just use the umbrella term of psychokinesis.  I recognize that these designations must be useful to someone though, so to each their own.  I sometimes substitute "telekinesis" for "psychokinesis" when around people that don't know what psychokinesis means.

Could there be a factual basis for Nibiru?

For those not familiar with the concept of a planet called Nibiru, here is a basic explanation.  Nibiru is popular among 2012 doomsday hypotheses but is mostly relegated to the realm of pseudoscience and conspiracy theory.  Some new research may confirm the existence of a large object on the very fringes of our solar system though.

Giant Stealth Planet May Explain Rain of Comets from Solar System's Edge.

Could this proposed planet, Tyche, be the planet Nibiru hypothesized by Zecharia Sitchin as the home of the Anunnaki?  If nothing else it is potentially an exciting find that I'm sure will have many of the Nibiru believers pointing and saying "I told you so!"

How to Stop a Psychic Vampire Attack

The best way to stop an attack is to prevent one in the first place.  How do you do that?  Make yourself a hard target.  If you make yourself harder to attack then the vampire will most likely move on to easier prey.  The best way to do this, in my opinion, is to have a solid shield in place.

A shield is an energy construct or thoughtform used to keep your energy in and unwanted things out.  To make a shield around yourself, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to relax.  Visualize a sphere of bright white light around yourself.  This light is impermeable and solid and nothing negative can enter your personal space.  Take a few moments to concentrate on this sphere and make it strong.  If it helps, you can visualize pulling bright white light from above and using it to form or charge the shield around you.  Actually feel the shield forming around you as you visualize it taking shape.  Feel the shield exerting a light pressure or static charge on your skin.  Know that it is there and feel the protection that it provides.

Once you have your shield formed and strengthened then you have basic protection in place.  Throughout the day take a moment to think about how strong your shield is, reinforcing it.  Feel it there and pump it full of intention and energy.  After you've had some practice at this you will have to stop to reinforce your shield less and less.  In the beginning it may be strenuous to maintain the shield, but this is like any other skill and it will become easier with practice.  This technique doesn't just work with psychic vampires but with most forms of psychic attack.

As you gain experience with shielding you may wish to add embellishments such as thorns (as a means to strike back), a mirrored finish (to reflect back negativity), or elemental effects (such as fire to burn away negative energy).  A little experimentation can go a long way and you will get back what you put into your shielding efforts.  Some people find visualization to be difficult, but if you combine this with the tactile approach of actually feeling the shield around you it will work wonders.

This will give you basic protection from psychic vampires and other forms of psychic attack.  It will provide a deterrent, much like a security system acts as a deterrent to thieves; it may not keep them out entirely (if they are really determined they will eventually find a way in) but it makes you a less desirable target and the thief (or vampire) is more likely to pass you over in favor of an easier score.  This technique is also a good place to start practicing visualization and energy work.

How to Identify a Psychic Vampire Attack

There are two kinds of psychic vampire attack:  one-time attack and repeated attack.  One-time attacks are most often targets of opportunity and will not recur (at least not from the same vampire).  Repeated attack is perpetrated by someone that comes in contact with the victim a lot, providing lots of opportunity for attack.

The symptoms of a one-time attack may not be apparent enough for you to notice as it's happening, or at all.  By the time the symptoms manifest the vampire may be long gone.  The exception to this lack of identification would be someone displaying very obvious behavior (not likely), or in the case of those that are paranormally sensitive, they might be able to feel the "breach" of their energy field by the outside influence of the vampire.  A repeated attack over a longer span of time is perhaps easier to detect as eventually the symptoms will catch up to the victim and compound until they are no longer something that can be easily ignored.

What are the symptoms then?  Most commonly the symptoms are fatigue and headache.  The kind of fatigue you get after a long day, and the headache you get from stress or working too hard.  By themselves these aren't that sinister and aren't that uncommon.  Most of the time there are mundane explanations and there's no need to jump to the conclusion that you are the victim of a psychic vampire.  Sometimes though, the symptoms will not be proportional to the amount of strain/stress you have experienced during the day.  You'll have to use your own judgment with these.  Some of the more severe symptoms are fever, dizziness, and nausea.  These are typically indicative of a severe attack, or prolonged depletion of your own energy due to being attacked on multiple occasions.

Of course, you should make sure that there is nothing medically wrong with you before jumping to the psychic vampire conclusion.  A lot of mundane things can cause these sorts of symptoms and most people won't even notice them, even if they are being attacked by a psychic vampire.  I provide this information as a way of showing the potential physical symptoms that can manifest from an attack on your vital energy.  There are more subtle symptoms that can manifest but these aren't always noticeable to everyone.  These might include strange dreams, holes in your energy field, or a sickly or damaged looking aura.  All of these things would be either imperceptible or mostly written off by those not involved in an occult lifestyle, I think.

In my next post I'll finally get to some techniques you can use to stop this kind of attack.

Psychic Vampires

It may come as a shock to many that vampires walk among us.  Not the caped and fanged creatures of popular fiction or the bloated corpses of legend but people that are, more or less, like everyone else.  Some of these individuals do partake of blood like their mythological counterparts but for this post I'm going to focus on the vampires that are perhaps less well known (and perhaps less swooned over):  psychic vampires.

The term "psychic vampire" has come to mean more than one thing.  There is the purely psychological definition of a psychic vampire as someone that is emotionally draining, constantly demanding your attention, and constantly fishing for gifts and compliments.  These vampires are perhaps as bad as the bloodsuckers of myth as they can end up taking everything from you if you let them.  These are not the vampires I'll be discussing and some prefer to use the term "psychological vampire" as they find it more accurate and it effectively differentiates these people from those that are commonly called "psychic vampires" in occult circles.  (That is largely a matter of preference though, as some view psychic and psychological vampires as the same vile creature, always to be avoided.)

The definition I will be using (and perhaps the one gaining popularity) is of a person that draws the life force energies from other people in order to increase their own energies.  This is done because, for some reason, the psychic vampire has a deficiency and they cannot produce enough vital energy for themselves, or it can be done by those that simply want to take from others to fuel their own endeavors with extra energy.  Outside of the vampire community this type of vampirism is usually seen as on par with psychological vampirism, but in a more esoteric or metaphysical sense.  These vampires will most likely not crave your attention or try to inject themselves into your life, at least not consciously.  At most they may try to get you upset and then retreat.  Their goal is to siphon off your vital energy rather than your money or attentions, although there is some overlap in behavior between unrestrained psychic vampires and psychological vampires.

Most psychic vampires that behave like psychological ones are not even aware of their deficiency.  It is possible to have this issue without even knowing and all that may be necessary is informing the person of what they are doing and teaching them how to reign themselves in.  This is where the vampire community can be helpful.  Other people may have no legitimate need (origin of the need aside) and may do this simply for the rush they get or for the power boost.  The ones without need are usually seen as addicts of a sort as they continue to perform vampirism even though they do not have a need for the energies they take.  Some of these vampires take energy from others to power magical operations or their own psychic abilities.

It is good to know that most of the psychic vampires that I've come across that are aware of what they are doing know how to control themselves.  Rather than taking from a single individual they choose to feed from crowds or from the energy given off by large groups of people in clubs or at concerts in order to mitigate the effects.  Their goal, typically, is to be as non-intrusive as possible when it comes to satisfying their need.  The vampires with the legitimate need are usually the nicest and most courteous about this process that many in the occult world see as nasty and invasive.  To the vampires it is unfortunate but necessary.  As usually seems to be the case, the selfish and the greedy give a bad name to those that don't necessarily deserve it.

In a future post I hope to give some tips and techniques that may help in identifying and stopping a psychic vampire.

The siddhis as psychic powers?

In Hindu and Tantric Buddhism the siddhis, or accomplishments, are seen as supernatural powers that one acquires through various means.  These means could be anything from being born with them to the use of herbs, or the use of trance and self-discipline.  Some of the amazing abilities granted by these accomplishments are being immune to heat and cold, transmutation of substances, levitation, and even teleportation (among many others).

I can't help but see a link between these accomplishments and some of the more extraordinary or fantastic psychic or magical abilities that are so popular in the West.  To me, personally, this gives inspiration as I have always leaned more toward the spiritual practices of the East.  However, I recognize that this is probably yet another interpretation of feats and abilities that have been described since ancient times and are available to all people when the right conditions are met.

The more I study this particular field the more I come to realize that whether you call it magic, psychic ability, siddhi, or whatever, you are essentially arriving at the same end:  Some miraculous or superhuman achievement.  Hopefully you can find the siddhis as inspiring as I do.

Wikipedia on the siddhis.
The Siddhis - A Brief Introduction

Read the above descriptions and see if you draw the same conclusions.

Commonalities Between Aliens and Demons

I've written about the commonalities between modern extraterrestrial encounters and encounters with supernatural entities like demons before.  Paul Schroeder over at UFO Digest has recently written about the subject and you may find it of interest.

How To Exorcise Aliens: Possession of the Fourth Kind

Is there a concerted effort to suppress evidence of the paranormal?

In my studies of the paranormal I have noticed what seems to be an effort by some to obscure, hide, or debunk the most convincing evidence.  I'm not talking about Men in Black silencing people that have UFO encounters; I'm talking about supposed "skeptics" making attempts to debunk evidence for things that they are ideologically opposed to, whether it be UFOs or ESP.

One example might be the controversies surrounding the Mars Effect.  Another example might be the extensive debate surrounding the results of the ganzfeld and auto-ganzfeld ESP experiments.  Perhaps the best examples of this kind of bias against evidence for the paranormal would be "rational skeptics" and the endless attempt to debunk anything and everything that may lend validity to the field of the paranormal.  The James Randi Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge is a component of this effort (but not the extent of it) and it should be noted that not just anyone can participate in the Challenge.

Of the rules listed in the application for the Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge I find number twelve to be particularly suspicious.  The "media presence" aspect is what I find suspicious and Randi has a history of going after prominent paranormal performers.  Going after public figures and exposing their fraud is commendable, but not when that is taken as some kind of strike against the paranormal as a whole.  I think that Randi wishes to draw out challengers and then publicly humiliate them in an effort to support his anti-paranormal agenda.

But is there a concerted effort to suppress evidence of the paranormal?  I don't think that it's a "concerted" effort.  I don't think there's a huge conspiracy to keep people from knowing the truth.  I think that the reason why most people aren't aware of the significant evidence for the paranormal is because most people don't like to read academic papers and to a lot of people the paranormal is seen as taboo.  When it comes to academics, it seems that any suggestion that there may be truth to paranormal claims is met with harsh criticism.  When no evidence of fraud or methodological error is found, those that cannot accept that precognition may be a reality, or find the idea of psychokinesis to be absurd, will often resort to simply ignoring it or attempting to discredit the researcher(s).  Worse still is the halfhearted attempt at replication that doesn't use the original protocol but claims negative results that bear on the validity of the original experiment.

My opinion is that these people are just trying to preserve their worldview.  It's really no different than creationists doing everything they can to cling to their belief.  If one has a totally materialistic and secular view of reality then something like ESP can really shake things up.  They really can't be blamed in this sense as everyone participates in this kind of behavior whether we admit it or not.  Does this mean that I like this kind of pseudo-skepticism?  Not at all.  I do, however, accept that the reasons for it don't seem to be any more sinister than simple fear of what we don't understand.

Mystery Boom in Georgia

Mystery boom still confounding officials

This sound would fall into the category of strange phenomena called brontides that Charles Fort had an interest in.  That this mystery boom was a brontide seems like a simple enough explanation but there is also the possibility that it was a top secret aircraft like the Aurora performing a test run.  If it is a secret aircraft then the owners will most likely never admit responsibility for the boom.

Personally, I have no idea what it could have been.  The more probable explanation is that it was a supersonic aircraft of some kind, but it would have to have been a secret craft as flying at high speed isn't permitted over that part of Georgia.  It could have been an extraterrestrial craft for all we know.  Until the experts can determine some mundane cause for the sound we're left to wonder.

The latest Nessie sighting.

Loch Ness monster: new pictures and sighting of Nessie

It looks like waves to me.  That said, it has been a while since there's been a Nessie sighting.  Maybe enough public interest will get another expedition out on the lake to look for the creature.  I happen to be a fan of the "Nessie is a dinosaur's ghost," hypothesis.  Hopefully someday we will know for sure what's going on out in Loch Ness.

The Mars Effect - More evidence in favor of astrology?

The Mars Effect is the purported statistical correlation between certain positions of Mars at the time of birth and athletic prowess or aptitude.  It was first reported by Michel Gauquelin, a French psychologist and statistician, in 1955.  As you can imagine, this was highly controversial and people immediately set out to examine the claims.

As seems to typically occur, attempts to debunk the Mars Effect were made and when the initial replication (begun in 1956) was a success it was suggested that it was an artifact of unspecified demographic errors.  In a second attempt at replication (done in 1975 at the behest of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, or CSICOP) the original data was called into question when the results came out in Gauquelin's favor.  This "questioning" consisted of splitting up sample groups to the point of making a comparison pointless.  There was even internal protest against this fudging of the numbers within CSICOP, seen as nothing more than shifting the subject of the experiment in order to appear in favor of CSICOP's investigation.  Naturally, the detractor was booted from the committee in a less-than-transparent vote.  A concurrent study of US athletes came up negative for the Mars Effect, but the study was carried out with seemingly no regard for the specifics of the effect as found in Gauquelin's initial study.

The above examples are just the first of the attempts to strike down Gauquelin's results.  There seems to be something inborn that is opposed to the notion of the stars having any sway on human events at all.  This probably hearkens to the idea of free will and one having control of their destiny (and free will, or the lack thereof, is a completely different discussion in itself).  The idea of astrology is very threatening to so-called free thinkers because it might mean that they aren't as free as they think.  In my experience, most people that are so ferociously opposed to the idea of astrology usually have the least understanding of the practice.

Enough of my ranting though; take a look at the Wikipedia page for the Mars Effect if you want all the gory details.

What's under Denver International Airport?

Much has been written about the strangeness surrounding the Denver International Airport so I'm not going to go into that.  Instead I'll provide a link to an article on the Mystery Surrounding Denver International Airport.  No, in this post I'm going to give my ideas on what I think could be underneath DIA.

I think that there's something strange underneath the airport and I think that it is perhaps a continuity of government facility.  In the event of catastrophe, the top members of the United States government would be moved to a COG facility in order to maintain some government in the face of disaster.  COG facilities aren't that unusual in themselves, but all of the New World Order imagery in the above airport makes it seem a little more sinister.

I think that the airport was built where it was built because of it's relative remoteness to Denver, or anything else for that matter.  In a widespread disaster, the government officials (or the NWO, Illuminati, etc.) could fly into DIA from anywhere in the world and then go immediately to the bunkers deep below.  I've also heard that Denver (and Colorado for that matter) sits on a very resilient portion of the Earth's crust.  The airport (or rather, the facility beneath it) is thus isolated and stable, protecting it from man-made as well as natural disasters.

I do not think that it is a secret research facility.  My reasoning for this is that there are too many civilians buzzing around the place all the time.  Having an international airport makes sense if you have survival bunkers underneath, but it really would serve no purpose for a secret research facility other than to perhaps hide it in plain sight.  If that's the case though, why bother building the airport at all?  Everything is already hidden underground.  All of the imagery and the peculiar circumstances surrounding the construction have only served to bring more scrutiny upon DIA as well.

I think the bigger question here is why build the facility at all?  There are perfectly good COG facilities already in existence.  Why the need to build a new one under such strange circumstances and in that particular location?  Does the government (or the New World Order) know something about the future that we don't?  Something to think about.

Alien abduction or sleep paralysis?

There has been a big push in recent years to explain away cases of alien abduction as instances of sleep paralysis.  I am not opposed to this explanation in the cases to which it applies.  No doubt some people do experience sleep paralysis and it can seem to mimic the popular imagery of the alien abduction.  However, some people manage to bring back souvenirs from their "hallucinations."

Most prominently you have people that come back with strange markings and scars on their bodies.  These alone are perhaps not that convincing as someone could scratch themselves in their sleep or notice a scar they hadn't noticed before.  Still, this can qualify as physical evidence of an abduction despite it's ambiguity.  It's hard to convince others of this though.

The most convincing evidence, for me, is when a person actually has an implant.  There is a Dr. Roger Leir that specializes in removing these strange objects from people.  Appearing outwardly to be lumps of metal, some of these implants possess truly strange properties and behaviors such as emitting electromagnetic radiation or even moving away from the instrument when an attempt is made to extract them.  This is no doubt the best evidence for the phenomenon short of actually catching ET in the act of kidnapping someone.

And then one has to wonder if the sleep paralysis explanation isn't something put out in an attempt to discredit those that are genuine abductees.  Disinformation and debunking are common practices you encounter in the study of UFOs and extraterrestrials.  Which is a more convincing explanation for abduction to the average person:  sleep paralysis or aliens?  Most people would pick sleep paralysis, I think.

Here is a link to Dr. Leir's website, Alien Scalpel.
Here is a survey to help you determine if you have ever been abducted.

Infrasound as an explanation for hauntings?

I've been seeing some opinions lately that infrasound (sound below 20Hz, the "normal" limit of human hearing) is the explanation for cases of hauntings.  This whole thing apparently goes back to a paper written by Vic Tandy and Tony R. Lawrence who found that infrasound is capable of causing sensory phenomena suggestive of ghostly activity under certain circumstances.  Infrasound is apparently capable of producing feelings of unease or fear in humans and can cause visual anomalies at the right frequency.  The concept of infrasound affecting people has been expanded since with less specific emphasis on ghostly phenomena.

It's obvious to me that under certain circumstances just about anything can emulate a genuine haunting.  The issue here is that just demonstrating that it's possible has seemed to morph into a kind of "all hauntings are infrasound" attitude among some people.  This isn't really accurate and there has been some work that shows no difference between groups that were exposed to infrasound and those that were not, as regards "ghostly" feelings or experiences.  That work can be found here.  (If you'd rather not read all five parts you can skip to Part 5 which gives an explanation of the results.)

With this in mind, I think it's premature to declare all hauntings and ghostly phenomena as the result of infrasound, especially given the specific conditions required to produce the effect in the first place.  If you would like to read more about infrasound, including Vic Tandy's experience, then please see the Wikipedia article on infrasound.

Why couldn't extraterrestrials be visiting Earth?

While few people seem to doubt the possibility of extraterrestrial life in some form, a far more contentious topic is that of extraterrestrials actually visiting Earth.  The primary argument against extraterrestrial visitation seems to stem from what we know about the vastness of the universe and the limitations imposed by physics.  What I'll present here are a few ideas that may have you thinking again about whether or not ET could visit us.

If we assume that every star in the sky has a planet just brimming with life, some of it intelligent, then those beings are going to have to travel for hundreds or even thousands of years if their technology is equivalent to ours.  Even moving at the speed of light it would take them quite a while, depending on which star they were coming from.  There are a few counters to this though.  If the civilization is older than ours (and it need not be drastically older) then it may have discovered the secrets of faster-than-light travel or perhaps even instantaneous travel between two points in space.  We tend to fall into the trap of thinking we know everything about the universe and how it works when we're actually just scratching the surface.

These beings may also not be biological at all; they may have advanced to a point that they have merged with machines.  This would make time of travel less of an issue for them.  Even cryogenics could make it less of an issue, depending on distances.  Take into account the time dilation present when traveling near the speed of light and they buy themselves even more time so they could actually make the journey (and possibly the journey back) within their lifetimes.  Or these beings could live and die on an entirely different time scale than we do.  They could have lifespans on the scale of thousands or tens of thousands of years (or more).

We tend to think of our solar system as being pretty barren with the exception of Earth.  What if ETs are coming from other planets in our solar system though?  Then the technology doesn't have to be nearly as advanced.  There could be civilizations hiding out on the Moon, Mars, Venus, and possibly the moons of the outer planets, potentially in those underground bases we hear so much about.  Their origins aside, if they are coming from some place close then it doesn't seem that improbable anymore.

With all of these ideas thrown out there, some people might ask "Why would they come here at all?"  Why wouldn't they come here?  If they're anything like us then they're probably very curious.  We can't really pretend to know the motives of extraterrestrials though as they are most likely very different from us.  The question of "Why?" might have to remain unanswered until we can ask them ourselves.

Left-Hand vs. Right-Hand

In the present occult community it seems that those classified as "left-handers" get a bad rap.  It should be noted that the distinctions of "left-hand path" and "right-hand path" depend largely on interpretation.  The terms originate from Tantra and were brought to the West by Madame Blavatsky.  In its original sense, the left-hand path connotes the breaking of societal taboos as a part of spiritual practice; things like sex in ritual or drinking alcohol.  The right-hand path refers to spiritual practices that conform to society's standards and generally keep with established doctrine.

In the current community the two seem to be divided into a kind of "black magic" and "white magic."  The left-handers are seen as lacking morals, using magic for selfish or malicious ends, and are usually seen as stereotypical "satanists."  The right-handers are the "love and light" types that are perhaps viewed most often as the stereotypical New Agers.  I happen to think that this dichotomy only serves to divide people that could be working together.

My personal view is that the left-hand path is more about utilizing personal power and emotional release whereas the right-hand path is more about devotion to higher powers and the petitioning of those powers.  It is much more complex than simple "good vs. evil."  I don't see the left-hand path as being necessarily evil at all and there are many right-handers that are guilty of some pretty bad behavior.  I think that left and right are just two different ways of accomplishing what is essentially the same thing, like the original meaning of the left and right-hand paths in Tantra.  It could even be said that both are necessary to form a complete practice.

The overall point that I'm trying to get at is that there's no need for a "vs." at all.  Magical practice doesn't have any intrinsic morality; it's the person practicing that determines whether a path is "good" or "evil."  I don't think that the divisiveness that can erupt in magical communities over this is something to be stamped out just because of ideological differences.  If we take the time we can often learn from people that see things in a different way than we do.

Left-Hand Path and Right-Hand Path

Strange Artifacts

The 10 Most Puzzling Ancient Artifacts

There are lots of examples of strange artifacts.  Fossils that shouldn't exist, man-made objects found in rock that predates humanity, and even messages from stranded extraterrestrials preserved in stone.  To me, these types of things always stir up images of an advanced distant past that flourished before some kind of fall from grace.  Whether or not there actually were advanced ancient civilizations, these types of artifacts are certainly something to think about.

I find the most compelling cases of these artifacts to be obviously man-made or intelligently designed objects that are found in prehistoric rock.  With these we have to assume that either our understanding of rock formation is flawed, our dating methods are flawed, or these objects were made by some civilization from the distant past.  There is another possibility though; one that I'm sure Charles Fort would be a fan of.

What if the same teleportation force I discussed in my post on the Super-Sargasso Sea is responsible for depositing these artifacts in ancient rock?  If there is some force capable of moving animals and objects from place to place in such a fantastic manner, why couldn't it deposit something inside a solid object?  The idea of teleporting inside of a solid object has been mentioned in science fiction for years, but what if these artifacts are examples of that very thing?  Could this force even transport objects through time, removing the need to place them inside of solid rock and, instead, just dropping them in the mud that would later form rock?

Advanced prehistoric civilization or impersonal teleportation force?  We may never know.

Can psychic abilities be learned?

Psychic abilities are typically thought of as gifts that are bestowed on a person, usually at birth.  This is what makes them special and able to use ESP and other similar abilities, at least in the popular view.  What if it's not just about being born with it, but what if psychic abilities can be learned?

My personal opinion on the matter is that everyone has the potential to be psychic; most people just don't tap that potential.  I think that some people are probably more predisposed to psychic functioning than others just as some people are born predisposed to being better at math or sports or art.  Does this mean that only those born with the predisposition can have psychic abilities?  No more than it means those with the predisposition for math or sports or art are the only ones that can learn those things.

This just means that some people will have to work harder to attain the same level of skill.  This also assumes that they even want that skill in the first place.  If you don't have the desire to have the skill or to be good at it then there's really no getting it unless you've been gifted with it from the start.  Even then, with a predisposition, if you choose not to use that ability then it will atrophy and you may as well not have it at all.

Then we have different areas of psychic ability.  Most people are probably better suited to some areas more than others, just like with anything in life.  Someone may be really good with the perceptive aspects but have no skill at all with more active abilities like psychokinesis.  Some people may be better suited to experiencing things visually while others may be better suited to sensing through feeling or intuition.  Again, predispositions come into play with this.  This is the view that Pete A. Sanders, Jr. takes in his book You Are Psychic!  I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to tap into their own psychic abilities.

I think we also have to take into consideration our society and the overall worldview towards things like psychic abilities.  Children are said to have more psychic experiences than adults.  The reasoning behind this is that children are still experiencing the world in a fresh way.  They haven't had a particular paradigm imposed on them yet so they are more open to whatever may come.  As they grow up they are told that things like magic and auras are not real, but just pretend.  As they start to believe this then it becomes true to them and they ignore and close off abilities that were natural and effortless to them.  That's the popular reasoning anyway.

My advice for (re)awakening your own psychic abilities is to listen to your intuition and take note of how it feels when something is right.  Practice the more active abilities.  Work out your psychic muscles so they'll grow.  Like any skill worth learning, it's going to take some practice to get the hang of it.  You can use the Quick ESP Test gadget at the bottom of the page to see how your skills are coming along.

Nazi UFOs

There has always been talk of the Nazis developing flying saucers toward the end of World War II and there is even some evidence that shows they were interested in this type of craft.  While there are pictures and stories to support the idea, the Nazis were defeated before their wonder weapon could be utilized.

After the war the United States and the Soviet Union began a grab for Nazi scientists and technology which ultimately resulted in the Cold War.  We know that the Nazi scientists contributed a lot to the science of rocketry so it makes you wonder what else they had breakthroughs in.  Could it be that UFOs are just top secret military craft derived from Nazi research?

If the Nazis were so close to having actual flying saucers then at what point would that technology be at after sixty years of development and refinement?  Would it have the capabilities of the UFOs reported that possess abilities considered beyond human engineering and technical know-how?  I think that there's a possibility that unexplained UFOs could be top secret military craft being tested or used for operations.  When you think about it, what better cover for that could there be other than extraterrestrials and spacecraft from another solar system?  There's no need to lie about it when everyone already assumes that it's little green men.

Here's an article that discusses Nazi flying saucers in more detail:  Nazi spaceship film sparks UFO debate.

Destroy your sigils or save them?

When I see people explaining how sigil magick works and how to do it, I often see destruction of the sigil as one of the final steps in the working.  This works well when each sigil is created for a very specific, one-time use.  What about if you want to have a collection of sigils that you can flip through to find the appropriate one, then charge it for use?

The setback I see in this is that it may be hard for you to let go of the sigil once it is charged and fired off.  If you dwell on it consciously then it might not work properly because you're not allowing the subconscious to do its job.  On the other hand, wouldn't using the same sigil over and over eventually make it more powerful?  Wouldn't it be similar to the traditional magickal figures of the pentagram, hexagram, etc.?  These are simple figures, highly symbolic, and some would argue that they are so powerful because they've been used so much.

So, which is better?  Do you destroy the sigil to allow it to do its thing or do you keep it so you can use it again?  I don't have an answer to that.  I suspect it depends on individual skill and what you feel most comfortable with.  Personally, I'm fond of the idea of having a collection of sigils and symbols that can be consulted and utilized for specific purposes.  Whether my subconscious would agree isn't something I can tell you.

Then there's the practice of keeping the sigil until the desire has manifested and then destroying it to release the energy.  As you can see, there are very few hard-and-fast rules for this type of magick and I think that's one of its major advantages.

Internet Demons

I've talked a little bit about demons before but I thought I would discuss the idea of demons on the Internet for a bit.  It seems logical to me that with more and more of humanity migrating onto the Internet for various reasons that demons (in the neutral non-human spirit sense and in the malevolent entity sense) would follow.  Indeed, the Internet has become a realm of its own.

So, what if there are demons on the Internet?  This provides some new ground for exploration in the dated study that is demonology as well as some new opportunity for magickians.  Maybe it even provides new opportunity for the sciences now that technology is inherently involved with the demonic activity.

This idea could even be spread to cover those strange electronic gremlins that each of us gets from time to time.  I'm sure I'm not the only one that has had a computer do something incredibly strange and then never do it again.  Could this be the hi-jinks of an Internet demon trying to upset me and feed on my emotion or is it attributable to the fickle nature of modern technology?  Hard to say really.

I think that this is a neat idea, as neat as the idea that the Internet is its own living entity, and it could be expanded on greatly.  I'll leave that for others to do though.  I think the big question is:  Have our demons followed us online?  There probably is no definitive answer to that but the link below gives a short, somewhat disturbing, account of the ramifications.

Demons in the 'Net

It doesn't look good when the government has a website for debunking conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation - America.gov

The fact that the government has a website devoted to debunking conspiracy theories only proves the conspiracy, right?  No doubt there are many conspiracy theories that don't have a leg to stand on, but there are a few that persist precisely because there is reason to be suspicious of what's going on.  It should be noted that even if there is no conspiracy, the act of debunking it makes it look like there's something to hide.

There is also plenty of reason for not being very trusting when one considers what the government has done in the past.  Project MKULTRA and the Tuskegee experiment are just a couple of examples.  It really does make one wonder what "they" could be up to right now that we won't find out about for decades, or ever.

Merely labeling something as a "conspiracy theory" has the effect of discrediting it these days.  There is probably a reason for that lack of being taken seriously though.  I've noticed that a lot of conspiracy theorists don't apply enough critical thinking to what they're saying and many rely on vague connections to support their arguments.  All of this only helps "them" stay out of the light, assuming that "they" even exist in the first place.  The truthers now perpetuate any conspiracy that may exist through the act of drawing attention to it.  Ironic, huh?

Wikipedia on the Tuskegee experiment.
Wikipedia on Project MKULTRA.

Some surprising evidence in favor of astrology.

Astrology is commonly seen as a fun-and-games sort of practice.  Most people only know about astrology of the Sun-sign, newspaper horoscopes variety.  Astrology is a much, much deeper subject than that.  Several in-depth books have been written on the intricacies and subtle nuances of astrology so I'm not going to attempt to explain that here.  Instead, I'm going to remind you of the primary principle of astrology:  The heavenly bodies are capable of having effects on earthly substances.  This would include everything from the animals to the plants to the minerals of this planet.

I'm talking about something that goes far beyond the known (but little understood) force of gravity.  I'm talking about something on the archetypal level.  According to the Doctrine of Correspondences, everything on Earth has a metaphysical connection to it's ruling planet(s) above.  Everyone knows of astrology's alleged sway on human events, but what about the effects on mineral substances?

Enter Lily Kolisko and her work with chemical substances containing archetypal metals.  The metal solutions she used are tied via correspondence to specific astrological planets.  She discovered that these substances behaved differently depending on what their ruling bodies were doing in the heavens.  You can find a link to some of her work below.

Working With The Stars In Earthly Substances

Parapsychology going mainstream?

Can science prove we're psychic?

I haven't found time to read the paper that this article is about, but I hope to soon enough.  Judging from the article though, I'd say that this is going to encounter the same stumbling blocks that most parapsychology studies finding positive results encounter.

It seems that already people are trying to shrug the study off because it doesn't provide a working theory.  I'm not a science historian, but it seems to me that most often we discover the phenomenon first and then work out the theory afterward.  Expecting a theory before an objective phenomenon is taken seriously seems like a very backwards way of doing things to me.

Then we have the problem of replicability.  Not everyone agrees on what counts as replicability in the first place, but for now let's focus on the people that have attempted a replication and got negative results.  Going solely by the article, it doesn't seem that they really attempted a replication as they didn't follow the exact procedure of the original experiment.  How can this be called a failure to replicate when they weren't even copying the original experiment?

Lastly, I suspect that as soon as conventional explanations for the positive results run dry then the cries of fraud will go up.  Never mind that an accusation of fraud requires evidence to prove it; it was surely a trick all along!  Some people just don't want ESP or psychic abilities to be demonstrated as a reality.  It would topple their worldview.

I have a hard time understanding the ferocious opposition to the idea of ESP and psychic abilities in the age of quantum strangeness.  There are plenty of things that we can't explain; why ignore ESP when there is evidence that it is a real phenomenon?  This is by no means the first study to show results in favor of ESP, though it could turn out to be one of the best known.  It could even be the study that makes people stand up and take notice, if it's replicated.  Call me a pessimist, but I don't think it will be that simple or easy to get this taken seriously.

Scientists are finally doing the obvious thing when it comes to near-death experiences.

Seeking Proof in Near-Death Claims

Placing pictures near the ceiling of critical care areas seems like a logical thing to do if you want to determine whether NDEs are objective phenomena or just the brain acting funny in the throes of death.  Hopefully this will provide some kind of answers about survival beyond death.

More on near-death experiences from The Body Odd.

Dowsing

Dowsing is the use of a Y-shaped stick, two L-shaped rods, a pendulum, or even your own body to discover hidden items or information.  There are probably many other variations on the technique of dowsing; these are just the ones that I'm most familiar with.  Personally, I prefer the L-shaped rods as they are easy to use, easy to read, and don't require a lot of effort or material to make a basic set to practice with.

I've had mixed results with dowsing rods though, to be honest, and I've yet to do a thorough test of my dowsing ability.  It is my opinion that the rods only amplify the unconscious motions of the individual and these motions can carry information from the subconscious mind, hence acting as a kind of psychic amplifier.  This explanation depends on the belief that the subconscious mind has access to abilities and information that the conscious mind does not.

Historically, dowsing has been used to find water under the ground or to find minerals.  "Water witches" were used to determine where a well should be dug.  Allegedly, some people still use dowsing to find buried water pipes when maps are unreliable.  I've never seriously tried to find something that was underground as I usually have little desire to dig holes in search of things, but if I find that my dowsing ability is pretty good I may change my mind and go looking for buried treasure or something.

Dowsing can apparently be used to find a lot more than water and minerals.  As long as the dowser can focus on what they're trying to find then it seems like the rods will amplify that signal.  This has been my experience.  Recently I used my rods to try to find a missing cat.  I seemed to have problems from "interference" at first as the rods kept leading me back to the cat that isn't missing.  Once I was able to break away from that it became a matter of what about the cat I was specifically focusing on.  I didn't find the missing cat because the rods were leading me onto an adjoining property and it was getting dark, so I decided to call off the search for the day.  However, I think I may have some idea of where to look now.

Honestly, I'm hoping the cat just comes back on its own.  Dowsing for cats is one of the more absurd things I've ever heard of.  Here's the Wikipedia page on dowsing.

Trolling as a magickal tool.

The idea hit me earlier that maybe the time-honored tradition of Internet trolling could be used in magickal practice.  It would, of course, probably be better suited to those of a "left-hand" path as it could be morally dubious and it also utilizes strong emotion.  I believe the difficulty might be in channeling all of that Internet rage into your work, but using a computer in your working shouldn't be that complicated for those with enough ingenuity.

This is essentially co-opted group focus, in a sense, similar to an ordinary magickal group working.  Instead of having a group focusing on your magickal goal, they are focusing their strong emotions towards you.  Your job then is to channel all of that attention being given to you into your working.  Since I'm becoming so fond of sigils I'll use that as an example.

You would need to prepare your sigil (or ritual, etc.) beforehand.  Once you have everything set up then you can begin co-opting the energy you need to make your sigil particularly potent.  I figure that there are two ways of charging a sigil in this way.  The first one would be to use your sigil as your avatar or display picture in a forum or chatroom so that the energy is flowing directly to it.  The second way would be to devise some method of channeling the energy into your working such as keeping the sigil on your computer or using your computer in the ritual (if you're taking the ritual path).  This is where your ingenuity comes in.

How do you incite the strong emotions though?  If you're dealing with Wiccans then point out how Gerald Gardner plagiarized Aleister Crowley (see this previous post for more info).  If you're dealing with followers of Crowley you can call him a deviant drug addict.  Obviously this only works on specific groups.  If you're working with a more eclectic crowd then you'll probably need more general triggers.  I would avoid things like "Magick isn't real," as this could work its way into your own subconscious and potentially subvert your goals.  Anyone that's had much experience in these types of crowds should be able to come up with something to stir emotions.

All of this is morally questionable, perhaps reprehensible, but I thought that it might be interesting to folks even if they never actually try the idea out.  I enjoy thinking of new ways to look at old things and solve problems.  With this much negativity on the Internet, someone may as well try to put it to use, right?  If anyone does try this then please let me know how it turns out.  This is frontier stuff right here, I think.  Exploration and experimentation is encouraged.

I also apologize for the flood of magic(k)-related topics lately.  I know that probably not everyone enjoys reading about this stuff but I've been getting back into it lately and I feel that the best writing comes from personal experience.  So there you go.  I'll try to post about more diverse topics in the future.

Magical Alphabets

I've recently taken an interest in magical alphabets, specifically the Theban alphabet.  Magical alphabets have the advantage of giving something a mystical feel as well as concealing information from those that cannot read the text.  Using a magical alphabet also allows for a deeper level of abstraction and symbolism which can aid in some forms of magic (sigil magic comes to mind).

Most of the popular magical alphabets are quite old and related to us through Agrippa.  These alphabets are usually based on Latin or Hebrew and are little more than substitution ciphers.  As with certain languages, the age could be said to aid in the potency of the alphabets.  This potency is also added to by the effort expended by a person in learning and writing the magical alphabet.  In the case of Enochian, we have a means to communicate with the angels themselves.

Enochian is not merely a magical alphabet though.  Enochian is an entire language, channeled by John Dee and Edward Kelly in the 1500s from the angels themselves.  Through the use of Enochian and the associated magical system one is said to be able to gain secret knowledge.  Obviously, learning an entire language (a complex one at that) takes a lot more effort than learning a new alphabet so it is perhaps not for everyone.  Those not particularly interested in ceremonial magic may have no use for Enochian at all.

If you are interested in incorporating magical alphabets into your own practice then see the links below.

Theban Alphabet
Enochian Alphabet
Enochian Language on Wikipedia

Demons: Evil or Misunderstood?

In a lot of modern occult circles any talk of demons is generally frowned upon unless it's talk of how to defend yourself from them or exorcise them.  This is interesting as it wasn't always this way.  This is evident in the Keys of Solomon, specifically the Goetia.  The Goetia focuses almost entirely on various demons and their means of summoning.

Demons were not always seen as the malevolent forces that most Westerners view them as now.  In the beginning, demons (or daemons/daimons) where seen as non-human spirits that coexist with mankind.  Just as there are good and evil people there were some spirits seen as good and some spirits seen as evil.  With this in mind, it seems reasonable for a magician to summon a benevolent demon in order to solicit its help in some manner.  No soul-selling or pacts necessary, just the petition to a non-human spirit.

I think that Christianity gets the most credit for the contemporary view of demons as evil beings out to possess your body and damn your soul.  I only bring this up because even though the original concept of demons has been tinged by time and translation, there are still occultists that adamantly insist that one not deal with demons.  It should be said that these people are usually "right handers" or "white witches."  I find it ironic that they would hold to and support a predominantly Christian view of demons with the knowledge that they have been just as demonized for being witches of any kind.  In light of this inaccuracy (largely translation-based in the first place), you would think that these occultists might be more sympathetic to demons.

Just something to think about the next time you see mention of summoning spirits or demons.  For a much deeper view of demons, please see the link below.

Wikipedia on demons.

Scientific Evidence for ESP

Not many people know that subjects like ESP and PK are accumulating scientific evidence in favor of their existence.  The best evidence of psychokinesis is manipulation of random event generators (such as occurred at Princeton's now defunct PEAR lab).  The best evidence for ESP seems to be in the ganzfeld and auto-ganfeld experiments, but there have been many more experimental setups for ESP.

It seems that no matter what the psychic ability being tested is, the effect size is usually very small.  Yet, the effect size appears to remain consistent across studies.  Meta-analysis has been put to great use in parapsychology because of the ability to compare and examine data from multiple studies.  It also allows for small effects to become apparent by putting all of the data into one study.

I could go on and on about parapsychology and the evidence of psychic abilities but I mainly wanted to write this post in order to share with you one of the best papers on the subject I've read.  It's by Jessica Utts who is a professor of statistics at UC Davis.  It's kind of long and gets a little technical, but if you're as interested in the evidence as I am then you may find it worth your time.

Replication and Meta-Analysis in Parapsychology