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PONDERINGS Reality is a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs -- Lily Tomlin
" Better The Devil You Know .....!" It is understandable that many people assume that if angels exist, then so too must demons, or some form of conscious evil entity. But is it not more likely that the invisible realms reflect the hierarchy to be found in nature on the physical plane which is expressed in a multitude of forms from single-celled creatures to humankind? Supernatural phenomena is defined as anything "beyond the ordinary", which is not the same as being contrary to nature. Therefore one could imagine the celestial hierarchy being comprised of continually evolving forms, rather than malevolent entities, which culminates with the angelics who tradition says are the closest beings to the Creator. The existence of angels does not automatically signify the existence of demons. If angels are the highest form of discarnate beings surely they are complemented by lower, undeveloped forms and not necessarily by conscious beings of equal strength but of a contrary nature'. Perhaps that is why we have an impressive record of angelic encounters through the centuries - but no credible accounts of encounters with devils and demons. Our history has certainly witnessed evil acts, but in each case these appear to have been a manifestation of our own inhumanity - the shadow side of the psyche which has been separated from the source and is unconscious of its True or Divine nature. If this is the case, then we have nothing to fear but our own shadows - and maybe that is the greatest fear of all!
(Extract from ‘Investigating The Unexplained’ (Piatkus/Berkely-Penguin) by Paul Roland)
Just Say No to Demons!! - Loyd Auerbach Frankly, I'm troubled. I'm troubled by the kinds of training (or lack thereof) people who call themselves "ghost hunters" have received (or not received), especially when they offer their services to people who claim paranormal problems in their homes - people who are often scared by their experiences, and experiences that may or may not have a paranormal cause. I am troubled by the perpetuation of misinformation about ghosts, hauntings and poltergeists on the internet, and amongst ghost hunting groups - who have completely missed the over 130 years of field work and investigation of such things from the earliest days of psychical research through the inception and work of folks in the field of Parapsychology. I am troubled by the sentiment that using technology is the same as doing science -- it's not, especially when the equipment is not even used properly (I've seen this first hand). But recently, I have been troubled by the rising tide of "demonology" connected to investigations of the phenomena which exists and is experienced in connection with consciousness, and the suggestion that studying demons is somehow "scientific." Many use the word "demon" to refer to apparent non-human entities that have "evil" intentions, and the word "angel" for those entities who have "good" intentions. It has not been established (proven, scientifically) that consciousness is separable from the body (ghosts and such), though the evidence certainly points that way. The idea of non-human disembodied beings is one step even further removed. Only living people's perceptions, what they experience, points to disembodied consciousness and only those perceptions and interpretations of those perceptions might suggest "non-human" beings (other than ghostly pets, of course). We've got enough to deal with human consciousness without leaping to conclusion that some entity or other is "non-human" for whatever reason. Further, what is "good" and what is "evil" is subject to our interpretations, biases, and beliefs. Is a shark evil when it attacks someone? The result of the attack is certainly not a good thing, but the shark is what it is: hungry. Is an earthquake "evil"? Things can be very dangerous without being "evil." That label attributes motive - a conscious motive to do harm merely for the sake of doing it (see most DC and Marvel Comics super-villains). There are two questions here: are there non-human entities and are they malevolent or evil? The answer to both depends on looking deeper into the perceptions, psychology and experience of the folks encountering things they believe fall into these categories. From the Parapsychological perspective, while there might be non-human disembodied entities (essentially, beings of pure conscious energy), they fall into the realm of belief and speculation even more than ghosts do. The experiences with such things can be explained by other psychic models (apparitions, hauntings, poltergeists, telepathy, etc.). If there are such beings, are they evil? Using the word "demon" to describe them already puts them in that category, regardless of what their intentions are or who they are. But more dangerous than that, using the label "demon" puts a religious spin on the entity and experience. If one takes the word "demon" to mean those entities which started out as angelic beings, caught up in some rebellion against God (losing side) and thrown down to the "region" that became known as Hell, and perhaps their progeny, then we have a simple problem: God, or gods, and beings of that hierarchy, including the "low" (demons) are seen as unknowable. How do you prove God exists? If you can't prove the existence of God, how do you prove the existence of lesser yet associated beings such as angels? How do you prove the existence of a Devil, whether you call him Satan, Lucifer, Ahriman, or Loki, when he is said to be part of God's (or the gods') hierarchy? Gods, demons and other supernatural beings have always been held responsible for the events of the natural world, whether we're talking about the weather or the functioning of the human body. Most of such explanations derive from the sense that humans have a hard time with the unknown, so we have come up with some forms of explanations, however groundless in fact. So, in some cultural belief systems, drought occurs because people have offended particular deities or demons, while rain comes when they are again pleased. An individual gets sick because of the direct influence of a magic spell, an evil spirit, or a demon. Most of us do not still believe demons are responsible for drought, pollution, disease or a simple headache. Why? Because science and medicine have learned otherwise. Demonology, studying demons, is inherently non-scientific. Approaching such experiences and supposed entities from this perspective IS religious, and a particular religious approach. For ghost hunting groups to incorporate such things into their "investigations" means approaching the experiences of people from a religious perspective. Unfortunately, I've seen too many websites for groups that do include demonology, and in the same site profess to be going about their investigations "scientifically" with no acknowledgement that demonology is inherently from religion (and generally the Catholic/Christian religion). More than that, it can mean that you are going to scare the s**t out of people having paranormal experiences (telling them they have a demon attacking them). This is inappropriate and does not respect the people one is trying to help, or the phenomena/experiences which need explaining. I have had cases over the years (and know of many more) where people had a "ghost hunter", tell them they had a "demon problem." They got more frightened than they were, the ghost hunters were unable to help them (other than to refer them to some clergy who could not help them), and the experiences continued. In too many of those cases, there was NOTHING paranormal happening - the people (and I assume the ghost hunters) had misinterpreted normal occurrences as "supernatural." In the cases where something paranormal was happening, not everything they reported was paranormal...just some things. We dealt with the experiences, we dealt with the fear they felt, and the phenomena stopped. But they needed counseling because of the stress and fear the "demonologist" ghost hunter had put into them. There is also another danger which keeps rising in my mind. Several people have been either killed or allowed to die during "exorcism" rituals in many places all over the world. By demonologists (usually clergy doing the exorcism). Other people have been killed by individuals who attacked them because they (the killers) thought the victim was either possessed, WAS a demon, or was a witch. I was involved as an expert in a homicide case in 1984 where the couple had killed one woman for apparently casting a spell on them, and another man because he was a demon. If you are truly interested in the human spirit - in ghosts - and whether it survives in some form after death, drop the demon angle. Too much confusion, too much bias, and too much religious mythology (which I acknowledge may be religious fact to you, but not to Science) can lead to pain and suffering. It certainly doesn't lead to understanding what these experiences are that we link to apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists. It certainly doesn't lead to any sort of application of Science - which is the search to understand how we and the Universe works. But most of all, looking for evil demons where there are other, non-religious explanations will send you off track and create emotional problems for those who report their ghostly encounters. Just say No to demons! copyright Loyd Auerbach
Things That Go Bump in the Day...
Turn on most ghost hunting shows produced over the last 10 years or so, and you can expect to see the ghost hunters running around in the dark, portrayed via nightshot camera work. Yes, it looks cool. Let's face it, ghost stories are meant to scare us, and the dark of night is that time when it's often so quiet as to both notice things we normally don't, but also when people's minds are quiet enough to be suggestible. Several of my apparition cases (see my book A Paranormal Casebook (Atriad Press, 2005) such as the Moss Beach Distillery, the USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Museum, and the Banta Inn, have apparitions that appear to folks, move objects or otherwise make themselves known at all times of day and night. Poltergeist activity tends to occur when people are awake, and with the lights on (otherwise, how could you see it?). There are some cases in which it appears some activity occurs when the poltergeist agent is in the dream state, the activity an extension of the metaphors of the dreaming. Imprints tend to follow the pattern of activity of the living people who are "recorded" and can even be "recordings" of activity of people still alive. But the event that was recorded (events, actually in this case) ALSO occurred at 3 AM Nightvision cameras will still throw their infrared light and work just fine in full light (well, people's eyes won't glow as much in regular light, so that's an artistic downside). One must always eliminate as many "normal" explanations as humanly possible in order to be able to understand what is and is not paranormal. This is very hard to do in the dark. Significantly more fraud was caught with infrared film, by the way. copyright Loyd Auerbach Ghosts are real!– according to Bruce Moen.
The following is condensed from Bruce Moen’s second book, "Voyage Beyond Doubt " "Several times a year I get calls from someone concerned about a ghostly presence they're aware of, usually in their home. Some callers are frantic, worried the ghost might do them harm. Others are more concerned for the welfare of a ghost. There are some simple things anyone can do to permanently move a ghost out of their house. Before getting to them, let's cover some basics and hopefully clear up a few misconceptions. First, the most important thing to know is that ghosts are just human beings not living in physical bodies. These are people just like you and me. Like people everywhere, ghosts can be friendly, scary, smart, stupid and everything in between, but they're just people existing in a new state of energy. Second, at its most basic, the reason you can be aware of a ghost is because its attention is focused at the level of physical world reality. There can be many reasons why ghosts do this. They may be unaware they're dead and staying close to familiar surroundings or people. They may be aware of their death, but confused about what they're supposed to do. Some ghosts may have a message they want to give someone still living in the physical world. There are lots of reasons why a ghost's attention may be focused at the level of physical world reality, but that focus of attention is what brings them to your awareness and keeps them here. Third, you have nothing to fear from a ghost. Despite what Hollywood horror films would have us believe, such a person is not a threat to you. Projecting your own fear onto a ghost can certainly appear to give evidence to the contrary. Too many people I work with bought into Hollywood's fear-inducing images, and are scared out of their wits, thus adding to their problem. Fourth, there are Helpers living in the nonphysical world who will gladly assist you in your attempt to move a ghost along. All you have to do is ask. Often the Helper is someone actively trying to assist the ghost, but unable to reach him. Sometimes there's a Helper waiting to move a specific ghost. The Afterlife abounds with Helpers willing to volunteer their assistance wherever such an opportunity presents itself." So again, yes, ghosts are real. They're just human beings stuck in Focus 23 close enough to physical world reality that some of us are able to perceive them. Editor's Note: Bruce's books contain accounts of encounters with ghosts and his removal of them from people's homes, as well as tips for amateur ghost busters.
Quantum physics and worldwide communication: In trying to understand this concept of quantum mechanical, mutual interaction between the invisible phase-space and our visible, material body, it seems appropriate to compare it with modern worldwide communication. considering I work in the telecommunications industry with FOXTEL Subscription television There is a continuous exchange of objective information by means of electromagnetic fields for radio, TV, mobile telephone, or laptop computer. We are unaware of the vast amounts of electromagnetic fields that constantly, day and night, exist around us and through us, as well as through structures like walls and buildings. We only become aware of these electromagnetic informational fields at the moment we use our mobile telephone or by switching on our radio, TV or laptop. What we receive is not inside the instrument, nor in the components, but thanks to the receiver, the information from the electromagnetic fields becomes observable to our senses and hence perception occurs in our consciousness. The voice we hear over our telephone is not inside the telephone. The concert we hear over our radio is transmitted to our radio. The images and music we hear and see on TV are transmitted to our TV set. The internet is not located inside our laptop. We can receive what is transmitted with the speed of light from a distance of some hundreds or thousands of kilometres. And if we switch off the TV set, the reception disappears, but the transmission continues...................... The information transmitted remains present within the electromagnetic fields. The connection has been interrupted, but it has not vanished and can still be received elsewhere by using another TV set (“non-locality”). Could our brain be compared to the TV set, which receives electromagnetic waves and transforms them into image and sound, as well as to the TV camera, which transforms image and sound into electromagnetic waves? This electromagnetic radiation holds the essence of all information, but is only perceivable by our senses through suitable instruments like camera and TV set. The informational fields of our consciousness and of our memories, both evolving during our lifetime by our experiences and by the informational input from our sense organs, are present around us, and become available to our waking consciousness only through our functioning brain (and other cells of our body) in the shape of electromagnetic fields. As soon as the function of the brain has been lost, as in clinical death or brain death, memories and consciousness do still exist, but the receptivity is lost, the connection is interrupted.
"We only progress by raising our vibrationary level which is dependent on our positive actions and service to others. Beliefs are only 'soul-enhancing' when supported by loving/compassionate action i.e; faith without works is dead! Our beliefs can limit our spiritual progression - just as a lack of positive action will hinder our vibrationary progression.
Our reality is formed by our beliefs and our actions may bring new awareness beyond the limitation of our belief."
"Jesus was an enlightened man who struggled with human purpose and godly intent all his life and he eventually understood that life had greater depth and a timelessness that far transcended his physical existence.
He was a man who understood the cosmological reality of his being beyond his physical state."
ITC researchers have been communicating with the spirit worlds via radio, television, telephone, computer, and other means, and one of our aims is to redefine the concepts of life and death, and afterlife. We’ve received contacts from hundreds of people who once lived on Earth. They died and got settled into a wonderful existence that awaits all of us. And then they chose to re-establish contact with the Earth through ITC systems, to share with us—sometimes in vivid detail— their lives and their worlds.
"Just as what we call ‘death’ is not the end of the life experience so ‘birth’ was not the beginning. It is simply a growth process toward universal consciousness."
Humans are basically one particular group of conscious ‘experience gatherers’ for the divine collective, a cosmically orchestrated ’outreach’ program to further inform the ‘eternal whole’ through our human condition. We are the ‘boundary riders’ of divine consciousness, assigned to the task of expanding cosmic awareness.
"If we 'entertain a thought' about something, we have already invited the organising principles into our life for we manifest the essence of our thoughts" - I communicate with the ‘departed’ because it is part of my ‘conscious intent’ to do so - and this openness attracts the attention of other reams of consciousness.
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