Do Angels Exist?

I feel I must reiterate my “reverse-existentialist” theory, in which I assert that if it’s absurd to think that something exists outside of the human’s ability to comprehend such a thing existing, it’s equally absurd to think that it could NOT exist.

And this is where it gets important to pay attention –

This theory not only should be applied to pursuits in investigating the paranormal, but also in pursuits in investigating “the divine;” and furthermore, that these two seemingly disparate worlds may have more in common with each other than most people think.

Science Is In The Paranormal Shivers

The increasingly sporadic weather has me once again thinking of climate change and how some people are so willing to ignore 95% of scientists.

I suppose if one is not a scientist, or one does not have acumen in the area, it’s difficult to accept the theories that one may not upon first impression understand intellectually.  But that’s no reason to doubt the curriculum vitae of scientists and disregard their years of thought and effort.  Not to mention everyday empirical evidence of the drastically warmer and colder days we’re experiencing, warmer and colder than those past days of the same dates.  Evidence that makes your body sweat more than it ever has, or shiver greater than it ever has, is simply hard to sidestep. 

This brings me to the “shivers” that are sometimes associated with firsthand experiences with the paranormal. 

People who encounter these experiences often report tangible feeling, like being brushed up against, or they report a physical reaction in their body to the experience, the reaction most universally being a “shiver,” or a slight trembling, or something reminiscent of the feeling of “hairs standing up on the back of the neck.”  If these reports are valid, although one may assume it’s the literal entity that is interacting with him physically, it may very well be a physical reaction to the temperature of the environment.  For example, some ghost hunters have been known to keep rooms that are supposedly “haunted” extra cold, as a way to facilitate the extraction of an entity.  On the flipside, it may indeed be the entity that is causing the temperature shift, and therefore causing a reaction in the individual.  If we do not immediately see the explanation, then we must consider alternate theories for the cause. 

Tricks of the Paranormal Photography Trade (Part 1)

The following is an effort to parlay my own investigations into “spiritual” paranormal phenomenon into practical information on capturing “evidence” --

I was once an amateur photographer with a passion to go pro; but in fear of being pigeonholed into shooting weddings the rest of my life, I gave it up.  Well, sort of.  I decided to employ my knowledge of photography into my profession of studying the paranormal.  I found that the hobby was a perfect match to the profession (though some of you will probably argue as to which one’s the hobby and which one’s the profession – for me, there is no debate).

My preferred method of capturing paranormal evidence is to rig an HD video camera to my Polaroid camera.

Earlier in my life, I might have hesitated to reveal this information, as perhaps a Michelin Star chef might hesitate to reveal the secret ingredient to his most famous recipe.  But as I’ve gotten older, the urge to leave a part of my mind “behind,” as they say, has become an important stimulus to me.  And what better venue than the blogosphere to throw my proverbial “caution to the wind”?  


Furthermore, in revealing such information, I can’t help but acknowledge the possibility of conspiracy.  Perhaps the notion of conspiracy is more sincere of a motivation for my hesitation than anything else.  I can’t tell you how many of my connections to various organizations, like The Department of Defense, The Congressional Subcommittee on Paranormal Phenomenon, interagencies that examined UFO sightings within the Washington D.C.’s Federal Bureau of Investigation, have been erased from virtual existence.  It appears as though I never worked for them.  The government’s penchant for secrecy is overwhelming and far-reaching.  


I do not think it’s such a stretch to suggest the possibility of an insidious link between the collapse of the Polaroid Company, and other film manufacturers, and the rise of digital cameras, as a way for the government to protect the paranormal, to safeguard the mysteries that they’d like the masses to not pry into.  If paranormal phenomenon is only captured digitally, it’s easy to debunk: “Oh, it’s Photoshop;” “Oh, it’s a pixel;” “Oh, it’s digital noise, static, feedback, etc.”  However, with film, what’s on the negative is on the negative, it can’t be ignored or altered via a computer – it’s much harder to debunk.  It’s hard evidence.

Exposing and developing film is a chemical process – it is an organic process – just as the spiritual process of the paranormal is.

Photography: Film vs. Digital

When it comes to attempting to photograph a spirit, there is an inconsistency present in the frequencies of modern digital cameras, and a divide in exposure and materialization of the photo – the light, how it’s absorbed into the camera’s electronic sensor, and the subsequent digital translation of the visual information.  


Whereas film, specifically the nature of Polaroid instant film, is “instant” in the truest sense – the image is bounced from a mirror and exposed immediately on film.  And perhaps the most important element to this, which further distinguishes instant film from other types of traditional small, medium and large film formats, is that instant film develops in the exact same environment in which the ghost/paranormal subject inhabits, or just inhabited.  


You see, temperature is critical, as sometimes temperature is altered by the presence of a paranormal entity, thus the development of the picture in these same environmental conditions, the very conditions altered by the subject, is crucial to the process – and crucial to capturing an image of the entity...


For some interesting, but mostly fake, examples that exhibit the unique inconsistencies in modern digital photography, visit: http://ghostphotographs.blogspot.com/

For Vampires, Fashion is Undead Too.

I’m not sure whether the latest vampire craze has anything to do with my students’ interest in “ghosts.”  They certainly can’t get enough of stuff like the Twilight series, The Vampire Diaries,  and True Blood, I would argue that vampires fall into the category of “ghosts” as opposed to the category of “cryptids,” even though they are portrayed as being physically in our world, they are technically dead – the physical body is controlled by an ethereal force, a force outside, or beyond, our spiritual world.

This popular “gothic,” or simply “goth” as the kids like to call it, sensibility has driven up the numbers of students registering for my fall class.  Whatever it’s called, I’m a fan of this sensibility, as it’s currently keeping me employed at my university.  I have noticed that along with the rise of student numbers has come the rise of piercings, tattoos and black leather exhibited on their persons.  I have no opinion on their personal disfigurements or lapses in fashion sense, that is their business and their business alone.

The more extroverted kids have taken to actually wearing “fangs;” in fact, you can get your own pair of dental-fit fangs right here if you’re so inclined:

http://www.vampfangs.com/

As for me, my business is the business of ghosts, and other paranormal phenomenon, et al.

A Recent Development...

I have begun uploading video comparisons to these blog posts. If you would like to watch them, I am told you can do so by visiting YouTube or clicking this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/ProfessorLamott?feature=mhee

About Aliens...

Extraterrestrial Life, aka "aliens" (including UFOs):

Many believe that this category of unexplained phenomenon is not technically “paranormal.”  To these ghost snobs, I disagree, for as we just learned, the definition of the word “Paranormal” is that which is not scientifically explainable.

It also helps to embrace a firm distrust of the government and what the government allows the general public to be aware of.  An unidentified flying object may very well be an alien, or it may very well be an F-15 fighter jet, or it may also be an otherworldly spirit: as long as we’re kept in the dark, all three options are equally likely.

They are all scientifically unexplainable, as long as the scientists are not allowed to explain them.  And, I must admit, the mystery surrounding such incidents and claims of UFOs, and the reticence of the government to elaborate on such incidents and claims, does make you wonder…what are aliens and UFOs?

Defining "Paranormal"

The term “paranormal” as defined by Merriam Webster’s dictionary reads:

 adj \ˌpa-rə-ˈnor-məl, ˈpa-rə-ˌ\ : not scientifically explainable

This is an extremely broad, yet succinct, definition.  And this definition in the reason I’m baffled that synonyms like “supernatural,” “spectral,” “mystical,” and “occult” are commonly used in its place.  This is utter nonsense and most likely the act of the speaker to invoke a kind of sensationalism into his parlance.

Paranormal phenomenon is simply something that cannot immediately be explained through science.  This does not mean that it will not EVENTUALLY be explained through science.  According to this definition, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum might use the term “paranormal” with respect to climate change, since there is apparently a popular disagreement on what seems to me, anyway, like solid scientific fact.  But science is constantly being debated…as is the paranormal.

This is an interesting site to explore, as I’ve done some consulting for the organization in years past:

http://paranormalresearchsociety.org/

Supernatural Skepticism

The scales are tipped in the favor of skeptics, simply because it is a lot easier to accept the unexplainable as a fraud or fake, rather than expending the effort to prove the veracity of a particular event, object or entity.  With the aid of archetypes, like those hypothesized by Carl Jung (see Wikipedia article), people are more apt to explain the causes of potential phenomena by chalking such results up to the images or concepts that already reside in their minds, as though the seeds have already been planted in their brains and the ensuing confirmation in reality is therefore deemed less-than-reliable.  It’s like the housewife who finds an image of the Virgin Mary burnt into her toast; it’s much less a sign, than it is an example of wish fulfillment of this particular person’s need to validate her faith.  I doubt, if she was say, Muslim, or Hindu, that she would see that same image in that same piece of burnt toast.  This is an extreme example, but nonetheless an example that skeptics of the “unknown” use often. 

The mind attempts to settle the unexplainable before it has a chance to use its mechanisms of logic to deduce a definitive root cause.

However, efforts to prove the unexplainable as fraudulent should be met equally with efforts to prove the veracity of the unexplainable.  Pursuits of either result should be equally weighed.  What is outside the realm of human comprehension is something that one cannot dismiss as not existing. This is basically a more complex version of that age-old question: “If a tree falls in the woods, and you are not present to see or hear it, does it make a sound?”  If you fall into the camp that believes this means the tree doesn’t make a sound, then you are most likely a skeptic, and perhaps also an individual who is likely to disregard claims of the existence of the supernatural or paranormal.  If you fall into the camp that believes the tree has most likely made a sound, even though you were not witness to the event, well, you are most likely a person who subscribes to logic, to deductive reasoning, and someone who is more likely to investigate claims of the supernatural and allow your mind to be open to the possibility of “something else” – something that exists beyond the scope of our comprehension, something that we are not readily aware of, or might never understand in our lifetimes, but it’s something for which you cannot deny the possibility of existing.