Disclaimer:

~The views and opinions expressed here are of the blog author and not necessarily of CCAPSG as a whole~

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Bizarre In The News - The truth is out there

MATTHEW Jones was totally unprepared for what he saw as he stood in his garage in suburban Canberra in October last year.
Packing boxes for a house move, he was confronted by a stocky, hairy monster standing in the corner of the garage staring at him.
The creature, according to James, was a juvenile covered in hair, with long arms that almost touched the ground.
"It was inquisitive about what I was doing," he said. "It was definitely trying to communicate with me."
At the time, James had no idea what the creature could be. A friend later told him it could be a yowie - the creature described in the newly-publishedSomething Is Out There as "the big daddy of all Australian mystery monsters".

It is, according to the book about the paranormal, the Aussie cousin of North America's Bigfoot, the Himalayan Yeti and the Abominable Snowman.
The Aussie monster is as elusive as he is controversial, often seen but never photographed, according to the book's authors Julie Miller and Grant Osborn. They claim the yowie is an important part of folklore, making numerous appearances in the Dreamtime legends.
Read more here

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Bizarre In The News - UFOs deactivated nuclear missiles: U.S. Airmen to accuse government of a cover up.


It may sound like a Spielberg movie plot, but if senior U.S. airmen are to be believed, this scenario is not science fiction.
They claim that since 1948, aliens have been hovering over UK and U.S. nuclear missile sites and deactivating the weapons– once even landing in a British base.
Furthermore, they warn, our governments are hushing the activity up.
Captain Robert Salas, who, along with six others is to break his silence on the subject, said: ‘We’re talking about unidentified flying objects, as simple as that.
‘They’re often known as UFOs, you could call them that.


Read more: 
here

Bizarre In The News - Mothman Seen In Nuremberg Germany

Phantoms and Monsters


Yorkpress



A WOMAN from York captured an unexplained object in her holiday snaps this month, and wants your help identifying it.
Abbey Linfoot, 22, was on a European holiday with her boyfriend when she took a photo of this street in Nuremberg.
When she looked at the photo later, she saw something she couldn’t explain, high above the buildings.
“I was taking lots of photos to show people where we’d been, but when I got back into the car I noticed there was something on this one,“ said Abbey, who is currently studying at Newcastle University “I just though, ‘What it that? That looks weird’, and couldn’t work out what it was.”
To read more click here

A note from Bry: Is it mothman? Is it a UFO? An Angel? Or just a close up of a bug flying close to the lens? What are your thoughts?

Bizarre In The News - 227 paranormal events last year

The sun
A RECORD 227 paranormal events have shaken Britain in the past 12 months, a study reveals today.
The soaring number of unexplained activities is set out in police reports and other official sources.
Now The Fringe Weird Report has been compiled by the Rev Lionel Fanthorpe, a Cardiff-based Anglican priest and president of the Association For The Scientific Study Of Anomalous Phenomena.
Ghosts of people are the most common phenomenon, followed by UFOs, strange sounds and road phantoms.
Also among the reports are poltergeists, crop circles and shucks - spectres of large black dogs.
In a normal year there are 140 to 180 reports but the number has been rising steadily.
Mr Fanthorpe said: "It has to be considered that news spreads faster in our technological days with mobile phones and the internet. However, it's beginning to look as if 2010 will produce a higher-than-average number of reports."

To read more click here

Bizarre In The News - Portsmouth's 'haunted' manor fails to sell


A manor house alleged to be one of the UK's most haunted properties has failed to sell at auction.
Security guards have reportedly refused to work alone at night at Wymering Manor in Portsmouth, believed to be the city's oldest house.
The Grade II listed building, which is in need of repairs, failed to meet its reserve price of £375,000 at auction at London's Grand Connaught Rooms.

To read more click here

Bizarre In The News - Loneliness sucks: vampire seeks mates

SMH
MORPHEUS knew he was a vampire from the age of three.
''When all the other kids wanted to be Luke Skywalker, I wanted to be Dracula,'' he said.
Morpheus, 34, a law student from Bronte who does not want his identity revealed, believes drinking blood will prepare him for a better afterlife. ''I don't believe my body is immortal but I believe my soul is,'' he said.
''I believe that by drinking blood, I imprint my consciousness, so that in the next life I will remember who I am now.''




Read more here



Rev Robin Swope releases new book

"True Tales Of The Unexplained" 





Available on Amazon. Writing below all taken from Amazon.com

Book Description

Ghosts, Demons, UFOs and Cryptid creatures really do roam our realm according to the tales of Pastor Swope. From the ghost of a Nun who lost a love and lost her mind to the evil spirit of Mammadu, the blood crazed man; these true tales of the unexplained will lead you into the terrifying realm of the unknown.

About the Author:

Rev. Robin Swope entered the ministry as a Pastor in early 1992, accepting a church position following his internship. Since then he has served in a variety of Christian denominations from Conservative Evangelical to Mainline Protestant and Independent Fellowships. He has served as a short term Missionary in Burkina Faso, worked with the homeless in New York City's Hell's Kitchen and has traveled the Country as a Seminar speaker. He has written two books, A Walk with an Angel, An Exorcist's Filed Guide as well as contributing chapters to Brad Steiger's Real Paranormal series. He also blogs and contributes articles to hard copy and online news services.

Pastor Baz's review from the Amazon site:
"Pastor Swope delivers a great mixture of real life stories, mixed with authentic Q and A about the doctrinal and theological issues raised by ghosts and the paranormal. 
It contains many of his best selections from his blog plus new material which makes it handy portable reading. 

It's a must have for your collection which is a perfect companion for Robins book on exorcism which you should grab while you are online here at Amazon. 

Pastor Baz."

So go out and grab it and lend your support to the paranormal pastor! :)

Interview with an ex-reiki practioner who converted to Christianity

Thanks for taking the the time to answer these Belinda (Level 2 Reiki Practitioner).



Q1: Belinda, what is the process involved in becoming a reiki practitioner?


I trained under the Usui method, so my “attunements” were delivered by a Master. We did some theoretical training, with extensive notes on energy transference, ethical practice, do’s and don’ts etc. W e also did some deep relaxation therapy, including re-birthing and channeling.


The actual process of “attunement” was carried out with me sitting in a chair and the Master stood behind me doing some hand movements. This process was where she was placing “symbols” (from the Usui method) into my aura. They were unlocking the power of Reiki energy into my auric field so that I could then be a channel. I was then able to conduct spiritual healing in a one-on-one setting by placing my hands just above their body and imagining a beam of light coming from the “universe” and then thru my body and out of my “healing hands”. My hands would become warm if I was a good and open channel. I was taught to also “cleanse myself of negative energy” and clear the energy field after each session. This was Level 1.


Level 2 involved more “attunements”, where the Master placed more symbols in to my aura. I was then taught some symbols which I could then use on other people too. These symbols looked like Japanese characters, and I would imagine a pencil in the palm of my hand and draw the symbols in the air. These symbols allowed me to do a deeper healing, either in person, or psychically. For instance you could heal someone down the telephone line if you were aware they needed healing. Or I could telepathically connect with them and ask their permission spiritually to heal.



Q2:  So is the source of that power compatible with being a Christian?


I believe it is firmly incompatible with being a Christian. The Usui method evolved (from what I can remember) when a man – Mikao Usui – was enlightened and received the first attunement from the universal energy source. His method teaches you to re-connect with this universal healing energy. “God” is never mentioned in the training, and “Jesus” is certainly not a name that is uttered. I believe this method teaches you to connect with “earth energy”. A Christian would regard that energy as not being “from God”.



Q3: What supernatural experiences did you or other practitioners encounter?


When dealing with “universal energy”, and working with aura’s there is a deep connection to the spiritual world. Supernatural experience is welcomed and indeed encouraged – as it is taking place in another realm…you cannot see it.


Clients would certainly experience a feeling of warm hands, nurturing comfort…and often times healing of their aches, pains, and mental wounds. The power of the “universe” is real….however there is always a cost with using it. I believe the cost is that there is never a total peace; there is always a searching to be a clearer channel. There is not a personal relationship with an almighty God, who wants to know you, deeply and totally. The Energy is impersonal, and you cannot really say what you did worked and was true.


Personally I used to go to sleep every night asking the “universal energy” to renew me spiritually, and take me to a psychic place in my dreams where I could further my spiritual journey. I would place my hands on my tummy and fall asleep imagining the energy going into my body.


For years later, I suffered my irritable bowel, and sever stomach cramping – I believe this was part of the cost of dancing with the devil. I had literally invited the energy into my body.


Reiki opens up your channel to the spiritual realm, as you are asking the “universal energy” to come into your body. This opens you up to psychic phenomena, like ghosts, clairvoyance etc.  the deeper you go into the spirit realm, the more regular and almost normal these experiences become. Reiki, however was always considered a gentle therapy that “was for the good”.



Q4: Yet so many people see it as an alternative treatment like acupuncture. How dangerous could it be spiritually and emotionally?


It is a therapy that technically does not need the placement of touch. It is purely a spiritual modality. It is dangerous to play with a power that you are not aware of, nor would invite if you knew where the energy really came from.


Many therapists (massage, beauty, or even hairdressers) add a “little Reiki” to their treatments. They believe they are giving a precious gift to a client or friend. They give this energy freely and with the purest of intentions. However if they do not know Jesus, they will not see thru the enemy’s lies to where the source of this healing is really coming from.


I believe it is a great trap, because sometimes the healing is powerful and does work. But it takes the glory away from God, and makes it all about the person doing the healing.



Q5: You invested a great deal of time and money into this, what made you break away?


When I became a Christian, the whole aspect of Reiki suddenly seemed rather repulsive to me. It was instantaneous. I felt like I had been playing with fire. I felt that Reiki was not “of God”, and chose not to practice that craft anymore as it seemed the right thing to do. It was not a hard decision.


Now within my health therapy practice I ask the Holy Spirit to be my inspiration. It feels a lot “cleaner and true”.



Q6: So final words to anyone involved in the industry or recording treatments, possibly safer alternatives?


Reiki is taught as being a way to enlighten, to connect and to evolve using the universal energy as your guide. It places a lot of emphasis on your psychic ability and your openness as a channel. I would encourage anyone who is interested in Reiki to think about these 3 points: who is responsible for the energy you are using? Does the therapy lead you further into other “new age” therapies (like chakras, auras, opening third eye channels etc) or does it lead you to Jesus?


Research the modality fully and gain a good understanding of what it is offering.


Reiki practitioners tend to be gentle, nurturing people, who just want to do some good. Some are Christian and believe they are tapping into God’s energy because He created the Universe. I would encourage those people to talk to God and ask Him to reveal His truth.

Thanks Belinda.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Bizarre News - Biblical parting of the Red Sea 'could have happened'

Telegraph.co.uk
"A new computer modelling study suggests a powerful wind could have divided the waters just as depicted in the Book of Exodus.
The likely location of the ''miracle'' was not the Red Sea as such, but a nearby spot in the Nile Delta region.
In the biblical account, Moses and the fleeing Israelites are trapped between the Pharaoh's advancing chariots and a body of water identified from translations as either the Red Sea or Sea of Reeds.
Thanks to divine intervention, a mighty east wind blows all night, splitting the waters to leave a passage of dry land with walls of water on both sides.
The Israelites make their escape, but when the Pharaoh's army tries to pursue them the waters come crashing back and drown the soldiers.
Scientists in the US studying ancient maps of the Nile Delta region pinpointed where the crossing may have occurred, just south of the Mediterranean Sea
Here, according to some experts, an ancient branch of the Nile flowed into a coastal lagoon then known as the Lake of Tanis.
Analysis of archaeological records, satellite measurements and maps allowed the researchers to estimate the water flow and depth at the site 3,000 years ago."

To read more please click link above. 

Christianity and Reiki - For and Against.

I was sat on the train this morning and for some reason Reiki and Christianity popped in my head. Maybe I had read a comment about Reiki on twitter or something but I can't remember. I was sat there thinking to myself. Can you be a Christian and practice Reiki?
I literally know nothing about this practice so I decided to look into it and I found that there is a huge amount of discussion on the subject. FOR and AGAINST.
I will present direct from two websites their arguments for and against.
____________________________


What is Reiki?


Taken from www.reiki.org


Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."


And from www.wikipedia.com


Reiki (霊気?, English pronunciation: /ˈreɪkiː/) is a spiritual practice[1] developed in 1922 by Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui. It uses a technique commonly called palm healing as a form of complementary and alternative medicine and is sometimes classified as oriental medicine by some professional bodies.[2] Through the use of this technique, practitioners believe that they are transferring healing energy in the form of ki through the palms.[3]
There are two main branches of Reiki, commonly referred to as Traditional Japanese Reiki and Western Reiki. Within both Traditional and Westernised forms of Reiki, there are three forms of degrees, commonly referred to as the First, Second, and Master/Teacher degree. According to Reiki practitioners and Masters, at First Degree, a Reiki practitioner is able to heal himself and others, at Second Degree is able to heal others distantly (commonly called distant healing) with the use of specialised symbols, and at Master level (specifically Master/Teacher level) is able to teach and attune others to Reiki.
-------------------------------


Christians FOR Reiki


On a discussion board at healing.about.com there are many for and against views on the subject of Christianity and Reiki. I shall pick a couple out but if you would like to read more please click the link above.


Jane2222 says:
"Those who are claiming that Reiki cannot be reconciled with Christian faith are ignorant either of Christianity or of Reiki. They are perfectly reconciled, as Reiki is merely a manipulation of chi–like acupuncture. Chi is not spirit; it is physical energy, like sound waves or electrical waves. Working with Chi is deeply calming, and after a Reiki treatment people have a sense of relaxed well-being. But again, this is not spiritual, it is the same reponse the body has to a long massage or a yin yoga class.


Many people use a collection of healthy physical practices to support a balanced life, and to do so honors the temple of God that is your body. In that way, everything we do to take care of our health is righteous.


I am a devoted Christian who practices both Reiki and Yoga. I devote these practices to the Kingdom of God and put them, along with every other aspect of my life, under the guidance and rule of my Lord Jesus Christ. If you are interested in Reiki, I suggest you do the same."


Lezlie Cebulski, ND, EFT-ADV says:
"I am a Christian, naturopath, and EFT practitioner. If you read the book of Acts, you will see that the apostles, through the power of the Holy Spirit, healed and comforted many people. The Holy Spirit does not require people to lay hands on others to heal, but there have been many great Christian faith healers who have healed and comforted others by praying for the Spirit and laying on hands. I have personally done it and could physically feel my fingers and hands tingling.




Unless the healer is Christian and asking God for the Holy Spirit, I would not want a Reiki healer working on me. I don’t know where he/she is getting spiritual power. There is a spiritual world, unseen. It is important to understand the source of the practiioner’s power. If he/she doesn’t know where/who/what the source is, it isn’t a good idea.


With that being stated, I think most Christians are missing the best of what holistic care has to offer. We are electromagnetic/electrical physical beings. Not enough understanding is out there regarding how much our emotional and spiritual life impacts our health–and our health impacts our spiritual and emotional life.


We are 100% spirit, 100% mind, 100% body at the same time, like the Trinity. This is the essential concept in holistic care. Unfortunately, there a many whackos who branch out to “animal spirit guides” and other silly concepts which understandably frighten Christians.


There is nothing inherently evil about understanding meridians, chakras. They are only words to describe the energy centers and how energy flows through our bodies. Blockages of physical, emotional, spiritual energies do occur & they create disease. A Christian holistic practitioner can help educate the client by the use of Christian Emotional Freedom Technique, herbs and supplements for the body, and prayer which focuses on worship of God and burdens for other people."
-------------------------------------------


Christians AGAINST Reiki


Karl says:
"There is absolutely no way to reconcile reiki with Christianity. The Holy Spirit is not a puppet to be channeled for our amusement. Anyone who tells you otherwise is doing the devil’s business."






David says: 
"It does sound confusing, doesn’t it!


Sadly, this is because followers of Jesus like myself (and back through the centuries), didn’t trust what we read about Jesus and his power and compassion to heal. So unfortunately, we made excuses for our lack of faith and healing was largely absent from the church.


Meanwhile, others became adept at harnessing healing from other sources – other spirits.


God, the creator, heals through His Spirit (referred to above as the Holy Spirit). This miraculous healing power is available to be used to serve others by those who love God, and therefore love and follow the example of his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said that his followers would be able to heal, because he gives them that authority (ie ‘in my name’).


So, ask yourself, do you want to go to someone for healing where the ‘energy’, or the ‘power’ comes from an unknown spirit, or do you want to receive healing from the ultimate spiritual source, God, the creator?


Many followers of Jesus will now offer healing prayer – sometimes in a church, sometimes in another setting – it will nearly always be completely free of charge."


Sylvie says:
"It would be one thing if the Reiki practitioner was giving glory to God for the healing that takes place…but unless s/he is a Christian Reiki Practitioner (and even then I’m not sure), that is not the case. The “glory” goes to the self, to the power of words, to the skill of the practitioner who is able to “align the chakras” through energy manipulation.


The jury is still out for me. I’m starting to lean toward Reiki being irreconcilable with following Jesus…but I’m not sure.


I experienced my first Reiki session this week and the results were phenomenal…physically. Spiritually, however, I feel completely separated from my God. I’ve been miserable emotionally and almost obsessed with going back to get more Reiki done! To me, those side-effects are a huge red flag that I should stay away from Reiki.


Even though I tried to force Reiki to align with my faith by praying to Jesus through the experience and thanking God for the opportunity for healing, I continue to feel like I’m being warned…that it’s dabbling in something that I don’t want to allow into my life.


By the way, classic medicine does not purport to include contacting any type of “spirit” or “energy force”. In essence, the debate here is about our spiritual health so the two really cannot be compared."
----------------------------------------------------
So, there are some good points on the above website compelling me to be FOR reiki and then compelling me to be AGAINST it. (There are many websites you can find with a simple google search that are FOR or AGAINST.)


I think I know where I stand now (I may share my view in another post) but at the end of the day, this particular blog post is really only being written to make you aware that there is a huge amount of debate in this area between Christians.


Next Monday we will feature an interview with a friend of Pastor Baz who is an ex Reiki practitioner who became a Christian.
I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts and theories as to whether Reiki can be Christian or not?

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Real Life Story - A Good Cleansing: Removing the spirits

By Pastor Baz

This very morning I arrived at work to find out I had to attend a 'cleansing' which is kind of like an exorcism for a house.
I found out why when I arrived at the house with a whole ministry team.
 
The house has been used as a hostel for young people at risk. Many of the attendee's are emotional wrecks when they arrive. The house provides a safe haven and loving care to them. But something unusual had been going on and it started to affect everyone who stayed there.
 
When we arrived we went over the occurrences. If it had just been the young people staying there it could have been written off as auditory or visual hallucinations, overactive imaginations or mental stress or illness. But it was happening to the staff as well.
 
Voices yelling when no one was present. Screams in empty rooms, and in rooms where people were sleeping along with heavy human sounding breathing. Knocking, footsteps and sounds that at first were written off as possums, but after an inquiry by pest controllers turned out to be not the case. Feelings of dread, of being watched. Extreme sudden coldness and in particular one room where the heaviness was so oppressive you could barely breath. Some of these I got to experience myself this morning.
 
In a situation like this, it is good to try to find out all the possiblel natural causes. The first step is to rule out everything. In the rooms with the heaviness I looked for area's of high EMF and concentration of electrical equipment and proximity to wires, boxes etc.
 
Then we asked the staff what they had experienced, and they were all terrified to some degree. No-one wanted to stay there alone and as recently as 3am last night a staff member rang her mother to come and pick her up as the fearful presence had become so pervasive.
 
When you have highly educated, stable and professional people having seperate experiences that are terrifying to them, a good place to start once other options are ruled out is prayer.
 
It doesn't matter what the issue is, prayer will often help people break through their fears.
 
So we prayed through the entire house. As I looked around the room where most of the activity was occurring I noticed an Athiests Bible, many Occult books and Tarot Cards. These things can be like a magnet to things that are malevolent in an already fragile and vulnerable persons life. They go to them to find answers or gain control but it can end up controlling them as manifestations begins. 
 
So we prayed in the name, power and authority of Jesus Christ throughout the house and in the back room where a lot of the action was happening I was overwhelmed by a feeling of weakleggedness, breathlessness, an inability to pray clearly - for me a sign that something is agitating back. It is those times you simply need to not be fearful in any way but to focus on God. And like a balloon popping it burst, the physical and emotional feelings vanished and the room became light again as you would expect it to.
 
The house was blessed and consecrated to God with oil on windows, doors and over rooms, we prayed for the staff and for ourselves and then left the team on the note of what to do if and when there was a reoccurence. Because sadly, when people dabble in the occult, their free will cooperates with other entities that are seeking entry to their lives and until that pattern breaks, further outbreaks of phenomenon as mentioned above may occur.
 
So in summary, start by looking for rational explanations, don't go in with any particluar bias, but if they can't be found then in my experience prayer has never hurt anyone or anything, even the hardest athiest I know has asked for prayer when there are no other options and he can't find a rational cause.
 
What are our readers experiences with these types of 'manifestations'? Have you found logical non-spiritual explanations? Has prayer helped you?
 
Looking forward to hearing your responses.
 

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Bizarre News - Pub 'Ghost' slammed as harmless insect

ninemsn


A "ghost" captured on CCTV in a British pub that “freaked out” the landlord is likely to be nothing more than an insect.
In the video, the alleged ghoul can be seen floating across the right hand side of the room, and even polishing one of the tables.
The landlord of the Wolfe pub in the northern English town of Penrith told British newspaper The Sun: "I don’t believe in ghosts but this freaked me out."
But experts say it is more likely an insect crawling across the lens of the security camera.
"It's really evident from the blur - and it’s in front of everything in the room," visual effects artist Sam Edwards told ninemsn.

Bizarre News - Ghost Spotted in Cumbria Pub

Dailymail



When a Cumbrian landlord was spooling through his CCTV footage, a chill went down his spine and he turned white, as though he had seen a ghost.
Well, Andrew Batemen, believes he had, indeed, seen a ghost. These spooky images and video taken from the CCTV of the pub, which used to be a funeral parlour, allow you to make up your own mind.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1311971/Proof-ghosts-exist-Pub-CCTV-captures-spooky-apparition.html#ixzz0zYizcDZL

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Speaking Things Into Existence

By Pastor Baz



One of the most interesting phenomenon I have heard of is when people literally speak or think something into existence.
 Ancient Tibetan lore speaks of the Tulpa, which can mean “to build” which is a being which has animation literally from thought and meditation.
 In Nick Redfern’s book “Three Men Seeking Monsters” he considers the issue of Tulpa’s as being responsible for many sightings of creatures and phenomenon from UFO’s to Black Dogs and Alien Big Cats right through to Bigfoot.  His interviews led him to stories about ancient people’s who invoked beings not of our world, which feed on human fear and emotion and are still with us today, manifesting as the creatures and aliens that make up so many of our supernatural/Paranormal blog subjects today.
 Redfern and his companions even talk about their own experiences in invoking through meditation and occult ceremonies red eyed sasquatch like bipeds in an English forest and spider like beings in a basement.
 I have read stories of people having conversations about vampires on a lonely road at dusk only to be confronted by something in a tree nearby that resembled the exact being in their conversation.. The same applies tosome latter day Mothman and Jersey Devil experiences.. Is it just suggestion and imagination or something more frighteningly real?
 There are a number of issues that come out of this concept. One is that it is incredibly hard to prove that anything was ever invoked. Two, it could be due to hallucinations, mental illness, drug use, fatigue or an overactive imagination. Three, some of the people making the claims seem to be telling the truth.
 I remember a story told to me by a businessman, who runs a building company. He and his wife were watching a movie about UFO’s. The show was quite graphic and distrubing and they started to discuss alien abductions as they lay in bed after the movie.
Not much later that night, he said he woke his wife up after feeling very unseasy due to a light that penetrated their blind in a very strange manner. They initially wrote it off as a car, but on investigation, there were no cars coming toward the house. What he did see shocked him -  it was an orb of light that was hovering outside the window, and it was splaying light horizontally through the blinds like in a sci fi movie where machines are scanning a room for signs of life. After almost panicking, the couple decided to pray and not long after the light disappeared.
 The most unnerving aspect was the fact that they felt they spoke it (or invoked something preexistant) into 'existence' because of the movie and it wasn’t a dream or their imaginations.
 One argument I have regularly other researchers is simply the danger of investigating for the sake of it. Some people believe researchers who have multiple encounters of things no-one ever see’s are hoaxing it. And some of them are. But I also believe that the more someone pursues something supernatural, the more likely they are to experience a real event. They become open not only to suggestion but to a manifestation of the very thing they seek. This is the thing that drives researchers who look at things in a very methodical way insane - the metaphysical aspects that do not allow the subject to be observed, tested or are repeatable. And that's understandable.

My friends at the Ozcrypto forum would encourage us to look at this scientifically and with a great deal of skepticism  - and I agree. Like telling ourselves as children  there is a monster under the bed, the first cockroach to scurry across your hand as it dangles like bait will confirm that erroneous belief system – until mum or dad reveal the real culprit. Suggestion and experience do not equal truth and the null hypothesis has to be applied to determine nothing but cold hard facts which can be analysed.
 And as Pastor Robin Swope would highlight, there can be great spiritual and psychological dangers for participants in investigations. You don’t need to be a psychologist to realise that a person who has mental health issues may be at high risk in a suggestive environment. And many Churches have unfortunately taken advantage of this by taking people through unnecessary exorcisms at great cost to someone who needed therapy and medication.
 But even in light of taking a sceptical view, and great caution, there are enough cases to make you wonder whether our words and thoughts can connect with other beings, which respond by becoming the very thing we fear or envision.
 I have my own opinions forming, and I’d like to hear yours.
 God bless you, Pastor Baz.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Bizarre News - Coast ghostbusters in spirited search

BY day Judy Barr and Marg Pettiona are regular Gold Coast residents.
By night, the two women arm themselves with the latest high-tech ghost-detecting tools in an ongoing mission to prove or debunk Gold Coast ghost stories.
Temperature meters, voice recorders and night vision-equipped video cameras make up the arsenal of the self-proclaimed paranormal researchers, who plan to document their investigations and ghostly adventures in a book.
To read more click link above

Bizarre News -


FWI

Is your farm a place of poltergeists? A Mecca for the macabre? Are you left perplexed or scared by things that go bump in the night?


Well if this sounds like your farmhouse, then Farmers Weekly wants to pay you a visit.
The last time Farmers Weekly visited a haunted farmhouse was four years ago, and the memories of that night still see the Farmlife team running from the room at its mere mention.
But despite our reservations, we once again would like to explore the rural paranormal and the team here in Sutton are ready to spend a night documenting a haunted house.
To read more click the FWI link above.

Bizarre News - Residents phoned 999 dozens of times over "ghost and UFO worries"

Telegraph
Officers say one emergency call came from a man who rang police claiming to have seen the ghosts of ''two old ladies in a white Fiesta'' on a dual carriageway.
Other worried calls came from people who spotted ghosts or poltergeists on CCTV cameras and another who said he'd seen a ghost which could ''make me a million quid''.

To read more click the link above.

Bizarre News - Tenn teacher accused of holding teens at gunpoint

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Police have accused a high school teacher of holding teenagers at gunpoint after he found them ghost-hunting in a Tennessee graveyard.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office says deputies went to Shipley Cemetery, outside of Chattanooga, on Saturday night after a complaint of shots fired.
Police say they confiscated an assault rifle from 45-year-old Stacey Swallows.
Several teens, ages 16-19, told deputies they had gone to the cemetery after reading an online ghost story about it. They say as they were leaving, Swallows blocked the road with his vehicle, pointed the rifle at them and told them to stay until police arrived.
Swallows teaches diesel mechanics at Sequoyah High School in nearby Soddy-Daisy. He was being held on $180,000 bond Monday, charged with nine counts each of aggravated assault and false imprisonment.