Articles - Ghosts/Spirits, etc.
What Is All This? By Linda Dantonio
There is no clear-cut answer as to what "all this" is. Those of us who are involved with the paranormal all strive to understand. We may take different paths in search of anwsers and work in different ways, but we are united in trying to find answers. I do have my own thoughts and center on certain theories. There is one thing I do know: We have no way to determine what causes the various types of activities/anomalies to happen, not for certain.
If we don't know exactly what causes these things to happen, then is it possible nothing is happening at all? I suppose so, at least on some occasions. It is possible that even though known natural causes were ruled out, perhaps we didn't know all we could about the natural causes. Maybe those answers will come later. If these answers don't come, at least for some of the occasions, there is also the possibility that people become pre-disposed to a location being haunted and so they are more likely to be more sensitive to hearing/seeing things they never would have. This lends itself to a "fear factor" and "activity is very real for them. I know a couple of people currently experimenting with this idea. However, I do believe that there is still something going on that can't be explained either naturally or through psychology.
People tend to call whatever causes things to happen names like spirits, ghosts, energies, etc. For labeling purposes only, I do label the same way, however, I also realize that it is just a label. In fact, you will see I use labels for all things paranormal, just because it is easier and is understood by most people.
What or who are they? I believe there can be many answers to that. Many possible explanations involve technicalities of Physics and Quantum Physics. I will try to convey some of these thoughts in everyday language. Personally, I'm not a physicist. I'm an artist. A lot of the technicalities are daunting for me, but I gather the information I can understand. I will try my best to explain some of these thoughts and theories the best I can. I have also collected some helpful videos explaning some of these possible theories.
There are probably classifications for them in the world of the all-knowing, but people do classify them here on Earth (to the best of their abilities). One probable cause of activity is simply a residual imprint- something traumatic happened that left a memory-playback (of sorts) imprinted within the surroundings, especially if the area contains conductive minerals in the ground (ie: water, certain minerals like crystal, limestone, etc). These anomalies have no knowledge to them -is a memory play-back (Residual). The other type of activity does have inteligence and can interact with us (Intelligent). The most common thought is that these entities are the remaining spirits of people after they pass away. I may never have a reasonable thought on what came first - the spirit or the body. It is easier to just not deal with what may have happened prior to the birth of our bodies. So, if we are to believe that something remains after the body is no longer alive, what could cause this? Another possibility is that these "energies/spirits" may not be what we think of as "ghosts" but (at least some) may actually be from another dimension. I've even heard someone propose that what we think of as "ghosts", at least some, are actually aliens!
I like the thought based on Albert Einstein's work with the Theory of Relativity. We have all learned this in school at some time or another. The ideas Dr. Einstein presented that interest a lot of us that study such anomalies related to reported "ghost/spirit" activity, are presented in this theory. For example, for every particle of matter, there would have to be a particle of anti-matter. If we are matter, would there not be our "anti-matter". There is a current experiment happening around geneva, Switzerland that is working on a few different theories at once. There is a giant cyllinder/collider that is basically creating collisions between particles. On one hand, they are colliding "energetic gold nuclei" to measure amounts of and the activities of matter versus antimatter. They are suprpised to find that the matter particles are not acting as expected. Basically, if the results continue in the same direction, scientists will have to re-think that theory. You can read the full article here: http://technorati.com/technology/article/matter-antimatter-atom-smasher-makes-new/ - Time will have to tell on that one. Maybe these "spirits" are within anti-matter? Part of the Theory of Reletivity, is a scientific fact that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Our bodies do have energy within them. Energy is created and used when our hearts and blood pump and when we use our muscles to move, for example. People will argue that those energies don't mysteriously exist after we die, but rather those energies are put into the ground when buried; passed on when insects and animals eat our bodies; or expelled in fire during cremation, becoming part of the fire. That may be and it will certainly be argued for quite awhile. I am more interested in the energies like alpha and beta waves with in our brains. They are "waves", just as sound and light are carried in waves and they are energy! Alpha and beta waves come from our brains that house our mechanics of thought, reason and emotion - essentially who we are! Isn't that what our "spirit" or "soul" is supposed to be? I feel there is a strong possibility that these waves within our brain , since energy can not be detroyed, may continue to exist beyond our bodies.
Another theory many pararnormal researchers are monitoring is the SuperString Theory (see video also). There are two theories of "String". First, "String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity." {Wikipedia [1] - Sunil Mukhi(1999)"The Theory of Strings: A Detailed Introduction}. The idea seemed to start with the fact that mathematic equations for everything in physics (ie: gravity, magnetic force, sound, light, etc.) are almost based on the same equation. The question then arose - "What if these various laws of physics were, in fact, based on the very same equation? In order for that to happen, they figured there would have to be 10 dimensions of space in one dimension of time and not the 3 dimensions of space in 1 dimension of time as know. Wow! If this were the case, where are these other dimensions? Paranormal researchers are interested in this, because if there are these 7 other dimensions, perhaps the activity we observe and document could actually stem from one (or more) of those dimensions. To test this theory, I believe they may be using the same particle collider in Geneva - or is part of the same experiment testing anti-matter. They have neutrons/protons traveling at extremely fast speeds. When their speed is great enough, they have them collide. Now, if this gets repeated enough times, they hope to find that the total weight of all these particles prior to the experiment is greater than upon completion. If matter is missing, where did it go? A lot of us that research the paranormal, are interested because this could possibly explain where these "spirits"/energies are (at least some) and why we don't see them. To learn more about this, check out this video: http://videos.howstuffworks.com/ted-conferences/7608-superstring-theory-explained-video.htm . Also you can learn more about the collider at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider
There are a lot of thoughts and theories out there, but I guess I relate more to these thoughts. I also like the thoughts on Dark Matter. For example, from The Atlantic Paranormal Society's (TAPS) website, there is an article on Dark Matter (Richard Yannopoulos-Ruquist, PhD Applied Physics Harvard 1966) In that article - "He (Sonny Ayran) also refers to the existence of ghosts in a subspace which lies between the physical and a higher spiritual realm. That certainly reminded me of the three-fold universal categories of the physical, dark matter and dark energy." I also believe that the Single Conscious Theory not only has relevancy to psychics, but also possibly to explain (in part) how these energies are able to "show themselves" or "be heard" and why some people are more prone to experiencing paranormal events than others - people more easily connected to the "single/global conscious". You can find various articles on single concsious, but basically, there is the thought that we are connected to "everything" via a single consciousness. If certain people are more easily connected to a "single/global conscious", this would easily explain how people with "sensitivities" (i.e. - pychic, mediums, empaths) actually communicate with such possible entities when others aren't able to.
Aliens? Yes, I suppose some believe there is the possibility that at least some of what we experience could be aliens. Is that so far-fetched? Well, I don't know what the phenomena is called, but an example of how this could happen comes from when Christopher Columbus' ships were on the horizon approaching America. It has been said the Native Indians didn't "see" the ships. Technically, their eyes saw the ships, but supposedly their minds didn't. It is believed that since the Indians had never seen anything like that before, their minds could not process the information. Would it be so far-fetched to think, then, that beings could be here among us and our minds are not able to process the information? In which case, one could conclude the same with proposed "ghosts/spirits/entities?
People often try to connect these anomalies to being something spiritually -based. Some may say there's angels and demons. Other religions have their own versions of "good - vs - evil" entities. These are certainly thoughts a lot of paranormal researchers entertain. There are people who specialize in Demonology, where their specialty is the study of demons and work to rid them. It is no secret that many people believe, to some degree in angels or spirit guides. It has been said that everyone has at least one. As for "Heaven" or "Hell" (or whatever your religion may call them), I believe is perhaps strictly a "faith" reality. I always ask when recording if there is a Heaven, Hell, Pergatory. I never have recieved an answer. Mediums will help "spirits" "cross over". If they are being crossed over, there is no way to prove this and there is no way to prove they are going to "Heaven". I don't doubt that these energies do go somewhere once "crossed-over", just there's no way to prove where exactly "they" go.
Personally, I believe "they" are everywhere, all around us. We all try different theories striving for answers. Studying paranormal anomalies is actually being part of a large scientific experiment.
Alternate Theory? By Linda Dantonio
Here's some food for thought (see link below).
I think its a theory that does bring up a lot of
interesting questions. Its true...all theories seem
to stem from the thought that life exists for a
reason. However, they all have open ended
questions left over. I like how the fact that when
it comes to the Big Bang Theory that if any one
of over 200 parallels had been off by one unit,
none of "this" would exist. 'Pretty high coincidence
if you ask me. Then, people will add an "intelligence"
is responsible. I've been paying more attention to how our observation affects reality thoughts and theories - that how our surroundings, Earth and the Universe are not physically present, that they are figments of our imagination/consciousness if you will. With all we know, we still don't understand how consciousness actually works in our brains. I keep thinking of the native indians who could see the breaks in waves created by the arriving Pilgrim ships, but couldn't actually see the ships, not until the one drew out what HE envisioned. I also see how the common conscious theories could tie into this and, in turn (to me) could explain how some people can psychically communicate with consciouses that we aren't able to "physically" see. I definitely would like to see a lot more study go into what consciousness actually is and how it works. Maybe, it's time to get unplugged from the Matrix? Red or blue pill?
The way I see it, ever-existing consciousness and mult-universe and multi-dimensions can all explain the "why" seemingly unexplained anomalies can exist.
What begs further study is how multiple "consciousnesses" experience or observe simultaneously especially something supposedly random. For example, how do we communely observe something like a rock being thrown? Or, experience an accident?
Living With Paranormal
By Linda Dantonio
Once you realize that there are many viable theories for the existance of unexplainable "beings", what kinds of "beings" can exist? What do they want? Why are they here? The number of questions are inumerable. Since, we're not even certain these entities truly exist as we think of them, we can't definitively answer these questions . However, we can discuss various views and thoughts.
I will say, that so far, I do believe that at least some of these "events" or anomalies are what is leftover after our bodies die. I will not argue any philosophies as to what "keeps" "them" here (i.e.: Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, etc.). Some people are quick to say that what these things are, is evil. I know that Catholic people have a fear of ghosts or spirits because, for the most part, their church treats the discussion of them as such. I find it interesting, though, that discussion of "ghosts" are taboo. It wasn't so "taboo" when Jesus' followers saw Christ and thought him to be a ghost. I do believe that the type of person we are when alive transfers into an afterlife. If someone was a quiet, passive person alive, then they are the same in the afterlife. However, if a person was a loud, cranky, cantankerous personality then they will make themself known in the afterlife as well.
People who have experiences with these "spirits", often wonder why these beings scare them. Perhaps, their intentions were not to scare, but simply as a way to be "heard". For example, I would say the most common words caught in my EVP audio clips refer to wanting to be left alone. I get words like "Get out", "Get the f*ck out", "Go home", etc. more often than any other. Now, unless there are some dire circumstances involved, outside of just seeing figures, objects moving, hearing voices, etc., I assume that these "spirits" are laying claim, so to speak, to the space when I hear things like "Get out". Also, people that experience activity can also just be the respondents to a "spirit's" attempt to communicate. The founder of the group I used to belong to, Carrie (Shimkus) Furmanick, explained once that she believed that if you think of these "spirits" as being in a dark place and then they "see" someone, but that person doesn't see or hear them, then they might do things to try to get their attention (move things, appear, etc.). I believe that this could very well be true. I also believe that if someone is "sensitive" (whether they know it or not) to any degree, that these "spirits" "see" them more easily and are attracted to them or attempt some sort of contact. Perhaps, there is just some personal attraction. Like a child "spirit" contacting another child. For example, we have been going to a remote location for several years now. In the beginning, we used to get rocks thrown towards us. We didn't know why, until after many discussions, we found out that my husband got bored the first night we went there and tossed rocks into the woods. I can't say for sure this is why we had these mysterious rocks thrown, but I will say that about a year and a half ago, while walking around there and asking questions with my recorder running, I asked "Can you throw a rock so I know it's you?" I have a possible response on my audio after that three of us believe to be saying "No" or even "H*ll no" in a male voice when no men were present. Maybe, "they" figured the only way to get us to stay away was by not throwing rocks? Had we over-stayed our welcome?
We all know the stereo-typical ghost from books and movies haunting a home. Did you know, that some people have experienced hauntings associated with land, objects and people too? If you are experiencing some sort of abnormal activity, you should try to make a timeline. Perhaps, when marking down differences in people entering the property; new furniture, jewelry, etc.; or perhaps you notice that things only happen at particular spots on the property, you will find a souce for the activity. Like I've mentioned before, it is always a good idea to keep a constant journal handy and keep track of occurrances and what happened prior to them occurring - did something "trigger" something to happen?. (See "Investigations" page) This can also alert you to when things will happen.
Why would a "spirit" be attached to an object or a person? The only thing I can offer is maybe it's the same reason they "haunt" a home. What is that reason? People have all sorts of ideas on this. Some say that it's due to something tragic happening there or that the "spirit" has a real strong connection to the home/object/person. I have found that some locations have led me to think this way, yet others seemingly have no connections. The answer is, there is no definitive answer. If we're lucky, we get unexplainable data that leads to something historical to the site or to a person/object. Most times, however, we are not able to find the connection/s.
There are the very few reported instances where something more perplexing and perhaps dangerous happening, but let me assure you, these cases are VERY rare. I find it difficult to label such anomalies, but other people may call these things as demons, shadow people, elementals etc. I also want to make it clear that these "labels" are not the same things/beings. With all the different religions there are, they all seem to have negative beings. It is very rare to experience activities associated with these reported beings. TV shows would make you think differently, but they are TV SHOWS and subject to ratings. We, personally, have not dealt with anything we would deem as a negative entity and have talked to other credible groups that report the same thing. I have also talked with people in the field that have reported having dealt with very scary, negative entities. In certain faiths, they speak of "Elementals" - I could give you the full run-down, but the quick version is that these are some sort of Earth Elemental beings and if you encounter one, they can cause a lot of mischief and can be very difficult to get rid of.
Most of us are familiar with the term "demon" - that they're some sort of minion in the devil's army within the Christian faiths. Cases reportedly involving demons need to be heavily researched. So many issues involving supposed "demons" (oppression, possession) can also be excused by very real psychological or medical issues. Not to say that these cases don't exist, but are extremely rare.
I would like to talk about "Shadow People/Figures". There are characters on some of these TV shows that say they are dangerous and out to kill. I believe these beings may also be classified as "Elementals". There are varying reports on the shape and size of these beings. It seems a lot of the reports involve them wearing a hood of some sort. I think the most common report of these beings is their speed as they are extremely fast when they move. For me, "the jury is out" as to how I feel about them. Not a lot is truly known about them.
The logical avenue to go when it is thought there is negative activity happening is to go to your house of faith. However, strangely enough though, their "preachers" talk about battling evil but they mostly don't deal with it on a real realm. The Catholic Church, though they have several sanctioned exorcists, make it extremely difficult (pretty much impossible) to prove possessions. and other than a simple blessing of a home, you won't find much help. Dealing with a reputable paranormal group may be your best "defense" as we can be part of the process of documenting the activity (if, indeed is paranormal rather than medically-based) and provide possible contacts to help.
I do believe that a "doorway" can be opened by the performance of some sort of rite or ritual. This may have happened prior to you moving into a building or even before the building was present. It is important to not "fiddle" with practices or faiths you don't fully understand. A great example of this can be the Ouija Board [other than the obvious practice of Satan (Devil) worshipping or Pagan/Witch rituals]. I will not propose to know the "why", but I will say that playing with a Ouija board can lead to disasterous results. The idea is, you are opening a "door" and you really are not in charge of what/who comes through. You may actually think you are dealing with someone you can "trust" because you are getting answers that person would know. The scary thing is, that it appears that there are entities that "know" these things too, only fooling you. If you have knowledge of such practices happening on your property, be sure to alert the paranormal team you are dealing with.
I also believe that there is something to the stories of American Indian sites. First of all, they had a "knack" of choosing very energetic land for their rituals/burial sites. Sites that are on hills, near water or have certain minerals in the rock/soil can often lead to paranormally active homes. Also, if there are other sources of energy - i.e: power lines, high EMF (Electro-Magnetic Force) due to faulty/old electric wiring. - EMF may also give the false impressions of paranormal activity (supposedly if a person is sensitive to high EMFs). The rituals of the Native American Indians really involved the land, and I believe that certain emotions or practices can leave "imprints" on the land or surroundings.
If you believe you are experiencing activity and are either bothered by it or just curious , you can certainly contact a reputable paranormal group. Assuming you truly do have abnormal events happening, the group should be able to provide options or contacts to deal with these "entities". As I have already discussed, most times these events are really harmless, and likely they were just people - some more cranky than others! It is important though, if you decide to live with "beings" that show intelligence (not residual "imprints), that you do not try to establish a "connection" with them. One thing you can try if you want the activity to end, is simply tell them to leave you alone or leave the property.
Please contact East Ghost Paranormal if you have any further questions.
More articles to come!
If you're interested in learning more about Quantum Physics, you really should learn more about Dr. Michio Kaku. He has several books that are well-worth the read and here is his website: http://mkaku.org/
On a Dark Note... By Linda Dantonio
Though very rare, there can be entities that can pose a danger to people involved. Perhaps even more difficult to discuss than "spirits", these entities can cause havoc within a property. It is also more difficult to document their existence. The most important thing to do is get documentation of actual damaging activity.
There are different types of entities and I won't discuss them all here. Most are relative to a view of faith. For example, if the people involved are Christian, then, most likely any dark entity would be considered to be a Demon. This is also true for the paranormal teams investigating the activity. For example, if the team investigating has predominantly a Pagan faith background, they are liable to label negative activity as being from an Elemental. As I've previously discussed, it can be dangerous to assume a Faith with the activity (read: A Note About NonFaith-Based Investigating). It is best to determine actual activity from an unbiased point of view. Once the paranormal team investigating obtains enough documentation of actual activity, it can then be determined what is the nature of the "entity". Proper measures can then be issued to deal with the negative activity.
There can be any number of reasons for having negative activity on a property. I'm not sure we are aware of what all the reasons are for attracting it. There are some things you can do to prevent certain entities from infesting your property. Do not attempt any ceremony or ritual of which you don't have full knowledge of. Do not attempt to use things like Ouija Boards or Tarot Cards unless you have complete knowledge of how to use them safely and how to end the use safely. Using any of these methods of communcation or conjuring can open a door or portal that can be very difficult to deal with. To some, it may sound so harmless and even though I used to think of these things lightly, I have since learned that they are not harmless. I have dealt with people that have experienced intense activity, possession, etc. after dealing with Ouija Boards. It seems there really is something that can communicate with you via use of the board. The problem is, even though you may have tried communicating with "Grandma", you may actually be dealing with a very intelligent entity, that can fool you. People that have opened a door, per say, and experience activity they weren't prepared for, they tried to do things like burn the board, bury the board, throw it out, etc. This will not end the activity. You need to contact a person knowledgable in dealing with closing whatever session/door you may have opened.
Another type of "entity" that can cause havoc is a Poltergeist. It's definition is "noisy ghost". a Poltergeist may not be a "ghost" at all. We really don't know all that much about them, but it appears it is more of a manifestation of a person's emotional state. We do know that Poltergeists are associated with a person and a lot of the time that person carries some sort of emotional trauma with them. It also seems more prone to people with some level of sensitvity. So, dealing with something like this can be a bit of a challenge as in order to alleviate activity, the person must be willing to seek help - help with their emotional issues or help dealing with their sensitivities.
Should you be dealing with a Demon-type entity, it is important to realize that what you're dealing with was never a "being". It was never alive as you know it. It also is very intelligent. It's reported that activity begins lightly, then grows in occurrences and severity as "they" attempt to wear-down the person. It is also reported that in order to reach a person, it wears down the whole family so as to split them up, giving it the avenue to taking over a person. It is said that once a demon is able to attact a person, there are 2 stages - Oppression - a demon has an affect on a person with the intentions of fully wearing him/her down. The person starts to really show alarming signs such as showing real hatred, self hatred, regression, aggression, etc. The next stage is Possession. Possession is exactly as it sounds. This when the demon is able to possess it's host. Dealing with something like this involves being able to document actual demonic-type activity and determine the mental state of the person(people) involved. Once it is determined that negative activity is happening,a capable specialist should be involved. With all the TV shows now, all sorts of people have come about claiming to be demonologists, but only a very few have been sanctioned by a religious organization to perform certain rites or blessings. Be sure to be very careful choosing this person. Chances are, if you're dealing with a reputable paranormal team they will be able to at least connect you to a reputable person or group to handle the demon.
Now, certain spiritual populations have a belief-system that everything we are, everything we have, etc. is rooted to nature/Earth. Native American Indians, Paganism, Wicca, etc. are people who have faith that we can look to nature for everything that is good as well as bad, or even evil. They believe to some degree or other that there are elemental beings that can be helpful or harmful to a person or property. An elemental can cause chaos when involved with a person or property and can be very hard to get rid of. Once again, once relative documentation has been gathered, the paranormal team should be able to provide a capable specialist to deal with this issue.
If trying to rid the property of a negative energy/entity and if the proper cleansing is not used, what is reported to happen is that you may rid the location of activity - for awhile. Reportedly, the entity can be "hurt" but when it becomes active again, it may do so with vengence where it returns with more troubling, or even dangerous, activity.
Like I stated before, it is very rare to actually be dealing with a legitimate negative entity. I, personally, have not dealt with any of these for certain. I believe I may have witnessed some activity that could be involving a negative energy of some sort, but nothing for certain. There are groups out there that have a paranormal TV mentality - as I call it- that may have experienced something negative, but assume that it was negative right off the bat. I have spoken to other reputable investigators, and though a few have been involved with some sort of strong, negative force, most haven't definitively experienced a negative entity.
Just remember, the most important things to do is work with a reputable paranormal investigating team/group to document the activity and deal with the correct specialist to deal with the activity.
Don't always come to the conclusion that everything you can't explain is paranormal in nature. Most times, odd things have natural explanations. Often, people propose pictures of mists. Especially outdoors, mists are easily explained due to naturally occuring gases being released from the ground. These "mists" may have or not have been seen by the naked eye. If not seen, one could ask "How come I didn't see it at the time? It must be a spirit forming." Except, people may not see the mist and are shown in pics due to flash or IR flash illuminating moisture within the mist. Here's another example of a naturally occuring phenomena... http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/ghostly-image-appears-to-damage-police-vehicle-195204737.html?vp=1
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