While I was out in the woods, I had an encounter with Bigfoot! I saw a UFO last night! My house is haunted!
We heard it before and some of you may have even been one who makes such statements. What's next? Well, it's time for
the big-time investigators to come in and solve the mystery once and for all! NOT!
In today's world, little gets by social media's attention. Be it true or not, a paranormal story gets created
and if it is interesting enough (translation: sensationalized) it gets perpetuated, it changes, the story widens and
gets bigger with more details added until it possibly approaches modern myth status. We then embrace that as a belief, discounting any contrary argument as invalid. In some cases a catchy name gets attached to a place that alone guarantees continued fascination (especially if you have a ranch in a remote area).
The paranormal world is evolving into a tech-intensive research environment leaving behind the very fabric of the
haunting itself. All you have to do is watch one of the popular ghost TV shows. The homeowner/original complaintant explains to the ghost team the details of their experiences, i.e. being shoved, touched, hair pulled, scratched, footsteps, etc. All of this is experienced without the aid of any tech. It has happened to them and it has happened to them not just in the middle of the night with the lights out, but also in the day as well! I'm not hearing the interviewer's interest in the details as related to each occurrence outside of the broad general experiences. Quoting Alfred North Whitehead, “the present contains all that there is. It is holy ground; for it is the past and it is the future.” On top of that is confirmation bias that dismisses the very origins of what we today call "paranormal" by the first occupants of the North American continent. It is said that so-called "mythology" establishes the validity of belief in such things as the paranormal. So, where did that mythology come from? We have seen too many times the corruption of the base root reportings of events involving various things like spirits, UFOs, bigfoot, etc. The human condition of deceit, the craving for attention by fraudulent reportings and even self-induced hysteria have done nothing but denigrate the original sources of these reportings, morphing them and turning them into a popular media sub-culture that thrives on sensationalism to perpetuate their newly created layer of appeal that in effect, buries the very layers of the past which they claim to strive to uncover.
To just completely disregard the indigenous legends passed down for generations should be insulting to every intelligent, objective investigator and/or researcher into the paranormal. I say this as I quote from a popular media figure who recently referred to indigenous stories, "incorporated into a myth to control a narrative." Put down your tech to look into it! Are spirits traipsing about with a tech device to enable them to communicate with you, the investigator? Are you assuming they haven't "moved on" and are there, the same as they were when corporeal, except now they just don't have a body? If so, why can't you right now communicate with anyone in the same room as you with a device? Have you placed yourself as if "outside" with a device, thinking you must "look in" with it to make contact or should they be respected as to have been human once, with their associated cultural customs, memories and daily life experiences? Isn't that layer of "haunting" which we should be striving to contact (not tech-manifested ones), and shouldn't those we are seeking contact with be respected for their own cultural values that they held dear while still living? Think about that for a moment and the term "rest in peace" the next time you go to a cemetery to visit your own departed friends, family/ancestors.
Michael A. Jawer, in a 2006 article wrote, "The physical environment affects every individual differently, however past research suggests that certain individuals exhibit a greater susceptibility to environmental factors than the general population." Isn't this what mediums do? Better yet, isn't this what the indigenous, the original occupants of this continent have been doing from their beginnings? Aren't those same "legends" what we base our paranormal beliefs on today?
Let us have more respect for those original ways, passed down for generations to present. If you don't understand it, don't knock it. Immerse yourself in it to learn about it. Put at least the same amount of energy into that as you would the tech devices you put so much faith in.
Additionally, how patient are we for achieving results? My Chitimacha friend reminded me of this: “You have to have a lot of patience to hear those old people talk, because when they talk, they talk about motivation, the feeling, the unsound that is around the universe. They explain everything to one understanding. They bring it all together, and when they finish, just one word comes out. Just one word. They might talk all day, and just one word comes out.”
–Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
"We need to be careful about judging the old ones when we talk. At first they may not make sense to us. Maybe we’ll say they’re old fashioned and don’t understand. But the old ones do understand! When they speak, listen very carefully. Often it will take weeks or maybe even years before we understand what they are really saying. This is the way of Wisdom. We need to listen, listen, listen."
In the end, the main question is how objective are you? Are you willing to "listen" enough to another method/idea to consider changing your mind? Are you even willing to change your mind? One way might be discontinued emulation of the methodologies of the paranormal TV shows and their 'edutainment' form with instant results. Are you willing to consider the reports of the original ghost hunters concerning Star People, Spirits, Bigfoot, etc.?
Are you willing to change your mind?
- MoonJoey