The Beyond: Paranormal Articles & Editorials

~Written By Bill Stone~

The clear thinkers of the paranormal need a voice. They need someone to come forward, and lead the way to progress. We have nobody. I mean, we have all these TV shows spewing their madness to millions of people, and those masses are following. They are following the teachings of these pseudo-scientists and pseudo-spiritualists blindly to the most absurd end while the clear thinkers watch the tube with clenched fists, and gritting teeth. We sit there and think to ourselves, “How could you televise this stuff? It’s not even close to objective!”

We sit, we watch, and we continue to wait for OUR voice, which may never come.

So, until we get our voice, I will continue to do the best I can to help matters. Some of you will want to send me negativity while others may appreciate it. Either way, I’ll be glad to talk it out with you. I really mean that.

Hopefully, by now you all have a pretty good grasp on the concept of having an open mind, and we can move onto deeper issues. Yeah, I know I’m probably asking too much, but for the sake of argument, I’m gonna assume that you ‘got it’. If not, go back, and reread the frickin’ thing until it sinks in.

There are a lot of different mind frames on the whole paranormal subject, and almost NONE of us see eye to eye. I’ve always thought that we were all on this voyage together. Unfortunately, I’ve recently realized that I’ve been wrong about it. We AREN’T in this together, as much as I would like us to be. On this journey, there are many people creating proverbial roadblocks in our path. We have to find a way to break down these barriers, or we can never move forward. To do that, we have to change our way of thinking, and sometimes do, or say things that are unpleasant or controversial.

In this ‘Dark Ages Series’, the plan is to HOPEFULLY get some us to reprogram ourselves, and how we view things in the paranormal community. As I’ve said, I’ve always thought that we should be working together. I now believe that to be the wrong idea. We’ve been working together since before 100 AD. We’ve learned ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

I now say, “Lets call the whole thing off.”

I think after 1900 years of exploring the paranormal, it’s time to go another direction. It’s time to just finally accept he fact that people interested in the paranormal have different ideas concerning what they want out of the whole thing. We have different beliefs, and sensibilities. Lets face it, some belief structures, by their very nature are just NOT compatible with others. So, maybe we can try agreeing to disagree. Would that be so wrong instead of forcing people to fall in line?

Let’s find people who think like we do, and make progress with OUR people, as opposed to trying to convince people who ‘just don’t get it’. Are Christians ever going to convince hard core scientists of their idea on how the universe was ‘created’? Hell no, and why should scientists even consider listening? It’s not their cup of tea. Same goes the other way around. Scientists have no business trying to meddle in someones spiritual faith.

What I’ve done is, I’ve broken the paranormal community up into 5 separate groups. Everyone involved in the paranormal SHOULD be able to identify with one of these groups. Each group has its own merits and flaws. Each has its own pro’s and cons. They all have their own impact on the paranormal field.

I’m going to start with the MAIN 2 groups because they are the most important, and the foundation for all paranormal research. If there is going to be any progress in paranormal discovery, I believe it will come from one of these two mindsets. Make no mistake. These two groups are polar OPPOSITES. They can RARELY agree on anything. Perhaps it’s best that they don’t intermingle, as they don’t need one another to validate their own beliefs. These two groups are the ‘Spiritualists’ and the ‘Scientists’.

The Spiritualists
When I say spiritual, I’m talking about those that use their spiritual or religious beliefs to determine how they think, and react when dealing with something paranormal. I DO understand that just lumping all spiritualists together can be a bad thing, so don’t take this wrong. I know that there are a LOT of different frames of belief when it comes to the spiritual outlook. Everyone has their own religion and belief structures. There are Christians, Muslims, Wiccans, people who believe more in psychic stuff, sun worshipers, and even people that follow the teachings of Joe Pesci! BELIEVE ME, I get it. I’m not saying you’re all the same. I’m just saying that you’re different from the ‘scientists’ in the way you deal with this.

People who take a strong spiritual stance on the paranormal often feel that scientists are closed minded, and blind to the idea that paranormal studies are spiritual in their nature. It’s common belief that removing that spiritual aspect could be counterproductive. It’s easy to assume that the scientists don’t respect their spiritual beliefs in this matter.

• Pros:
  It cannot be denied that the field is based on things that cannot always, or to be quite honest, can never be explained by science. Who better to explain it than those that thrive on the spirit? Where science hits a wall, the explanations can come from faith. It can be your faith in your religion, your ‘spirit guides’, the sun… Really, wherever your heart is.
  Faith is something in my life that I wouldn’t know what to do without. Those of you that have a strong spiritual grounding, whatever your faith, will agree that it DOES help give you a sense of purpose, and something of a compass to lead you in the right directions.
  Because there are so many religions and belief structures, there are virtually infinite ways to explain paranormal events.
• Cons:
  The unfortunate thing is that many spiritualists take things too far, and force their spiritual beliefs on the rest of the paranormal community, as facts. NOBODY SHOULD EVER force their spiritual beliefs on others. How many wars have been started this way?
  Spiritualists often have a lack of objectivity. They often take their spiritual sensibilities to its closed minded end. Thats what faith is. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it doesn’t leave room for possibilities. That’s a bad thing in the paranormal field.
  Spiritualism and faith will produce no solid evidence of anything. No SOLID ‘facts’ will be obtained. Therefore, actual ‘investigations’ are not possible, or even necessary. This is not a ‘con’ per-se as it could be good or bad depending on your point of view. (I believe that trying to use science to prove or disprove someones spiritual beliefs or faith to be a BAD idea. It is disrespectful, and counterproductive. That’s just my opinion though. I figured I’d just throw it out there for ya.)
  Derek Acorah, Sylvia Brown, Paranormal State, and its sister show Psychic Kids…. MY GOD you people have the WORST role models. How do you EVER expect to gain any respect or headway in the field with people like this speaking for you?
  Bad policing. Scientists usually have no problem with calling a kettle black. If someone is trying to bullshit someone else… They usually get called out on it. This is not true of the Spiritualists. Because they usually respect everyone else’s beliefs and belief systems, they rarely call people out on their lies. “Oh well, they’re allowed to believe what they want, and I respect that.” NO! This paranormal field is to better ourselves, and learn. We can learn NOTHING by allowing people to lie, and spread crap around for other mindless people to listen to. Keep in mind, this is not to force others to believe like we do; this is to defend against bad information. How many people in the paranormal community are CLAIMING to be psychic, sensitive, a medium, or whatever? I would say a good 85 percent of the paranormal community. Is there something in the water? To you spiritual members of the community, the REAL ONES… I’m BEGGING you. PLEASE end this. Call these frauds out. They’re everywhere, on EVERY website forum spewing things that they overheard from someone else, equally clueless. Their egos are HUGE, and their mouths are even bigger. You legitimate psychics, and spiritualists have been virtually silenced by them. I say again, PLEASE end this. Do it for the whole community, and your own self respect. Police yourselves.

The Scientists
Scientists often refuse to see anything beyond the data that they have right in front of them, and have little patience for anything speculative that cannot be tested. Everything is black or white; up or down; right or wrong. Things either ‘are’, or ‘are not’. The only shade of gray is ‘uncertain’ or ‘unknown’. Theories and ideas are thrown around the paranormal field, and the Scientists either ‘accept’ them or ‘deny’ them based on experimentation, testing and the facts at hand… Scientific methodology is EXTREMELY simple. You make a hypotheses as an idea for what you’re doing. You then do studies, and tests to see if that hypotheses is correct or stupid. Once you do your tests, and you find out if you’re right or wrong… You do it AGAIN… And AGAIN. If you get the same results over and over again, it becomes a LAW…. A FACT.

Debunking IS scientific. You see what’s going on, you make a hypotheses as to a LOGICAL and NORMAL reason why you think it’s happening. You test that idea, and find out if you’re right or wrong. If you find out you’re right, it’s normal stuff, and you move on with your investigation. If you find out your hypotheses is wrong… Well… Thats even better in THIS field. This is where the fun begins.

• Pros:
  If they are objective, open minded, and intelligent, there is no arguing with their stance. THEY ARE RIGHT. They have solid physical reason for making any factual statement. They are often unquestionable. If they are wrong, because they are objective, they don’t have a problem with saying so, because it will only lead to further understanding of what they’re studying.
  If we are looking for solid FACTS accepted by the universe for ALL TIME…. This is the group that is going to find them. There can be no argument on that FACT.
• Cons:
  There are a LOT of people in the paranormal field who randomly claim to be scientific, yet have no clue what that actually means. The methodology I’d explained above… That goes right out the window.
  There are also members of the ‘scientific community’ that… Well… I hate to put it this way but, lack the intelligence to really do the job. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not claiming that I’m an Einstein or anything, but I have to call things like I see it. Some people just don’t ‘get it’. They don’t understand the difference between being objective, open minded, or are just plain being dumb.
  Many “so called scientists” in the field use BAD information, and cut corners. Where do you think the idea about batteries being drained, and cold spots came from? Why are they considered facts in the paranormal community today? These scientists leaped to conclusions. A good scientist DOES NOT do that.
  Another problem with the scientific paranormal community is often their lack of spirituality. Yeah, I know… That sounds stupid, but I’m serious. Hear me out. Not to get personal, but I have strong Christian beliefs. My faith makes it possible for me to be able to see beyond the cold hard fact of science. In my heart, with my faith, I KNOW that there’s more out there. If I did not possess that spiritual heart, I would be like a navigator with a compass on a journey. Because I have a compass, I scientifically know my EXACT heading… But I have no idea what my destination is, or even if I’m the one that’s supposed to go on this Paranormal Odyssey in the first place. Bottom line, if you’re a disbeliever, or a cynic, you’re in the wrong field. Go study animals, or rockets, or something where there aren’t as many variables. For those of us who DO believe, and remain scientific, the message to YOU is, even if we don’t agree with them, we scientists need to show our Spiritualist brothers a little more respect.

The last thing I’m going to say about these two groups is that neither one is necessarily right or wrong. They’re just different. They have different ideas, and sensibilities that in the past 1900 years have PROVED to be incompatible. If you’re a part of one of these groups. I’m asking you. Please, help the other group if they ask for it. Otherwise, just stay out of their way, and let them go about their business.

Now for the other three groups… This is where a line gets drawn in the sand, and people are going to get angry with me. I’m going to toss a lot of stones here. You see, the Scientists, and the Spiritualists are the MINORITY. The MAJORITY are in these last three groups, and frankly have a tendency to harm the community, both directly and indirectly.

The Spectators
The ‘Spectators’ are exactly what the name implies. They are people who don’t SEEM to be directly involved with the paranormal community. They spend a lot of time watching paranormal reality programs, and developing their OWN opinions, and theories of what they think is really out there. There’s nothing wrong with that, as it’s simply human nature. They’re what many of you refer to as “Armchair Ghosthunters”. There are many websites dedicated to the Spectator, offering them ‘Ghost-Cams’ to view and discuss. These sites are very popular. And, why not?

• Pros:
  Many Spectators are people that are just discovering the paranormal, and may be interested in going deeper than just watching bad television. This is great. Some of them can go on to really help the community.
• Cons:
  Often times the Spectators only know what the television or other people ‘in the field’ tell them. They do no investigation or research on their own, and therefore add to the endless sea of bad information and lies.

The Pseudos
I gave these people the label of ‘Pseudos’ due to their dedication to no real belief structure or every belief structure. This group is probably majority of the paranormal field, unfortunately. You see, this group is neither spiritual, nor are they scientific. Either that, or they’re a hybrid of the two. It’s very difficult to have scientific credibility when you believe that ‘feeling energies’, or using dowsing rods is a viable method in scientific investigation. On the same note, how can you fully trust a spiritualists instincts when they feel that their beliefs need to be solidified with scientific data? Apparently, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. I call them the ‘Pseudos’ because their science is USUALLY flawed by it being diluted with spiritual beliefs. At best, it is pseudoscience. Their faith, or spiritual beliefs are also in question do to their use of scientific ideas. It’s pseudo-spirituality.

• Pros: (For the Pros, I’m going to play devils advocate against myself.)
  Here we have the best of both worlds.
  Scientific devices such as EMF meters, and thermometers can be used in conjunction with dowsing rods, and psychics. All of these ‘tools’ can lead us to information, and knowledge about the paranormal.
  The psychic mediums can go in, do their readings, and get the information. After that we can quantify it by doing research, and proving what the medium had discovered.
  If our EMF meter tells us of a place of interest, we can bring in our psychics to feel the place out, gather information, and maybe even make contact with the beyond.
• Cons:
  Here we have the worst of both worlds.
  They are the majority of the paranormal community. You reading this are probably one of them. They are also the most vocal of the community.
  They are responsible for bringing forth MOST of the bad theories, and beliefs that have stunted the progress of paranormal studies. (E.G. Drained batteries, Cold spots, ORBS, bad EVP translation)
  ‘Pseudos’ are often seen as Spiritualists or Scientists. They are neither. It is often hard to tell. Often times, even they don’t know.
  Whether it’s there or not, the 9 times out of 10 the ‘Pseudos’ WILL find a haunting. See, if their gadgets don’t detect it, their other methods will. I’ve seen hundreds of ‘Pseudo-investigator teams’ work like this. I used to be a member of one. I was ashamed to be a part of it.
  Most of their methodology doesn’t hold water in the scientific sense. For example, in the ‘pro’, “The psychic mediums can go in, do their readings, and get the information. After that we can quantify it by doing research, and proving what the medium had discovered.” Are we saying that we’re spending our time investigating the reliability of the psychic as opposed to the case itself? Why do we need to do this? Why not just do our research?
  If their spiritualism or faith is pure, why are the scientific gadgets and ‘methodology’ necessary?
  ‘Scientific’ paranormal investigators using spiritual methods, which are paranormal in and of themselves, is flawed methodology.

The Cynics
Many people mistakenly use the word ‘skeptic’ when referring to these people. No. These people are not skeptics. Skepticism is healthy. It teaches you to question things, and look beyond what others tell you to believe. It’s a discipline that is forgotten almost entirely by the ‘Pseudos’ mentioned above. Cynics are different. Cynics are so blindly closed minded that they refuse to care to listen to the Spiritualists, and they feel the pseudoscience of the Scientists is ridiculous at best. They don’t believe in the paranormal. They will NEVER believe in the paranormal, or even the possibility of it. I see no reason to discuss them further.

• Pros:
  They are easily ignored.
• Cons:
  They have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to add to the paranormal community. Nothing paranormal exists. There’s no such thing as anything. What the hell can we learn from that? We can learn nothing from them.

Well, there you have it.

Those are my 5 segregated groups in the paranormal community. We need to find out which group we belong with, and learn how to help that group succeed in their goals. Continuing to butt heads as we have been for the past 1900 years HAS to end if we are going to move forward.

By now you’re probably either cheering for me, or wanting me dead. I’m sorry about that. I started this one by saying that we NEED a voice. We need someone to step forward, and work for progress, preferably in a lot more friendly manner than I just did.

And for the record… If I’m wrong, I challenge you to show me. Show me the error of my ways. I’m ALWAYS willing to rethink my convictions for the greater good. If you are intelligent, have a good argument, and are ALSO open to possibilities, I’ll be happy to hear you out. I mean this ABSOLUTELY sincerely. Maybe you can be the voice the community needs.

Let me know.

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The Dark Ages Of Paranormal Studies: Part 1- Introduction To An Open Mind