The Paranormal

by Peony 39 Replies latest jw friends

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  Je.suis.oisif

  Illuminated - the meduims I used to join back in the mid-eighties were far from normal. I kid you not. They freaked me out. That same one dismissed me from my private reading and told me I upset her. She said my aura was impenetrable-wtf. Said also I caused her to shake. Cue the scripture I think in James that says the demons tremble at Jesus' name that the older jw's showed me.

  At the moment I'm all at sea were beliefs are concerned. I'm just coming out of the fog. At my aunt's funeral some of her friends from the church of parapsychology attended. One was a warlock, swishing his cape all over the place. You're all correct. A shower of charlatans.

  Years ago there was a famous hypnotist visited Edinburgh. The whole audience except me went under. This post has taught me my instinct was trying to tell me something. It's only taken me 35yrs to acknowledge this.
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  Stealth

  Theft by deception.

  I have heard justification by one who did this: "Well I am just a poor mans psychiatrist"
• 

  Ucantnome

  my brother saw two clairvoyants after he left the witnesses. he told me that the first one wasn't much good but the second one was different, seemed to know quite a lot about him. he was surprised.
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  cantleave

  Watch some Derren Brown video's -- particularly the Science of Scams.
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  unknown ex-jw

  derren brown is excellent one of my favorite debunkers, also check out michael shermer.
  
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  Island Man

  I haven't but that's because I now know that all the paranormal stuff is really a load of rubbish. No alleged paranormal events or abilities have ever stood up to professional scientific testing and scrutiny.

  It's all charlatanry and exploiting the brain's pattern seeking mechanisms to deceive people. Many natural neurological phenomena are often mistaken for paranormal activity. For example, many people who are unaware of the phenomenon of sleep paralysis interpret the experience as someone putting a curse on them or a demon paralyzing them.

  Credulity + ignorance = belief in the paranormal. Knowledge of how the mind works + critical thinking skills = seeing the paranormal for the bs that it really is.
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  jws

  Illuminated wrote:

  We all have intuitive abilities whether it's Clairvoyance/Clairsentience/Clairaudience, etc, etc. It's just a matter of whatcapacity are we tuned into it, and it can be developed overtime.

  I will agree with you there. At least as far as having intuitive abilities. Some people can recognize patterns and make educated guesses.

  Humans only use a certain percentage of their mind and senses, and when we see someone a bit more tuned in, we automatically tie it in with fear as we don't understand it. Imagine what a group of people would think if you appeared out of the dark with a lamp turning it on and off centuries ago lol.

  Not this load again. The old "if we could use all of our brain, it would do things physically impossible" tripe. This has been used as the basis for what I would guess is hundreds of movies and books. A year or so ago, it was the movie Lucy expounding on this myth to make a story.

  Check out this article from Scientific American:

  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-only-use-10-percent-of-their-brains/

  Even if we did use less of our brainpower, using more doesn't mean our brains can see into the future or telepathically read other's thoughts or manipulate objects without touching them. It's still only grey matter, not built to do any of that. Read the above about what neurologists say, not hollywood screen-writers or New Age book sellers.
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  Autumnation4414

  There's a really good book called The Parapsychology Revolution by Dr. Robert Schoch & Logan Yonavjak that compiles research into the topic of ESP, clairvoyance, and PSI that I highly recommend reading if you are interested in the topic.
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  jws

  Autumnation4414 wrote:19 hours ago

  There's a really good book called The Parapsychology Revolution by Dr. Robert Schoch & Logan Yonavjak that compiles research into the topic of ESP, clairvoyance, and PSI that I highly recommend reading if you are interested in the topic.

  Let's not forget that Uri Geller was examined by "scientists" and proclaimed the real deal. Yet on closer inspection, those tests could hardly be called scientific. He was able to leave the room whenever he wanted. One of his friends (a known helper) was often permitted in the room. And when he knew he couldn't get away with it, he refused to do that test. He's a sly one that knows when to pull the wool over an investigator's eyes.

  He often requests no magicians be present. Why? Experts in trickery can often spot his tricks. Scientists don't often see the tricks and are often fooled by misdirection. When the possibility of trickery is removed, he can't feel it today or the planets aren't aligned or something. Oddly enough, when Uri was tested, this was acceptable. In my mind, I'd put it as a fail. When you add things like this, parapsychology is a huge fail.
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  Autumnation4414

  Hey JWS, hope your weekend is going well. I was actually hesitant to post anything on this thread because I didn't want to be labelled a proponent of parapsychology or anything paranormal because I'm not. After leaving JWs I read a lot of books, some worth reading and some not so much. I happened to come across this book after reading one of John Anthony West's book Serpent in the Sky regarding Egypt. Anyways, Robert Schock assisted him with the dating of the Sphinx. I liked him real well and so picked up whatever else he had written. I recommended the book merely because of how comprehensive it was and felt that if anyone was interested in the topic this book would be a good place to start, and from there, the reader can make up their own mind. Because who am I to tell you what is and what isn't? I really am just an uneducated exJW with no claim to fame. I do my best to enhance my knowledge but I'm no expert on anything. I am just rolling with the punches and keeping an open mind about everything.

  Anyways, I have rambled on long enough. Thanks for posting, you brought up some really good points. I really love this board for all the different point of views there are. It really gives so much food for thought.