Phenomenon

Pendulums, Telepathy and Aliens

2008-11-11T16:29:00.001-08:00

The psychic aspect of UFOs seems to be too often ignored or dismissed by many researchers. Often exasperated by what’s perceived as a silly, New Agey element that is an embarrassment to “serious” UFO researchers (someone please tell em what is a “serious” UFO researcher? A suit and tie? Heavy use of a clipboard?) a psychic component of the UFO phenomena is sometimes seen as an unwelcome intrusion into credible research.

But there is a psychic thread within the UFO experience, and it’s dishonest to ignore that. It’s dishonest, or at least a disservice, to reject the value in this fact. UFO lore is full of stories of people who’ve had some kind of psychic or telepathic experience in context of their UFO and/or alien encounter. The UFO literature is full of stories of witnesses finding that they have a sudden, unexplainable strong urge to look out the window, go outside, walk or drive to a certain place. Upon doing so, the witness sees a UFO or encounters an entity. Sometimes these encounters include psychic or telepathic communications between human and alien.

There are also many stories of witnesses who say the UFO they saw “knew” it was being watched, knew that the humans were there. The UFO seemed to have an intelligence and awareness of the human witness, and plays or puts on a show for them.

My Self-Reflexive, New Agey Self

I’ve had a literal lifetime of paranormal and UFO experiences, including this psychic aspect to UFOs. My interest in this part of UFOlogy is personal; self-reflexive. While I’m a bit embarrassed myself about my New Agey side, well, there it is. Call me Crystal Cruncher if you must, but like Popeye said (who had, as his companion, the supernatural “pet” Jeep... something was going on there) “I am what I am.”

Invisible Aliens: They’re Here

Three different times I’ve had the eerie experience of knowing that “they” were in the room with us. Who “they” are, I’m not sure, but a few things I just know to be true are: “they” are related to UFOs, “they” are not human, and yet have a connection to us, and “they” are very much aware of us; far more than we are of them.

I never saw ‘them” but their presence was as real, as tangible, as concrete, as anything else in the room. I would think I was just over imaginative or going crazy, except that, in all three instances, this experience was confirmed by others.

Mysterious Disappearances

2008-11-10T17:05:00.003-08:00

People disappear for various reasons. Most are runaways, some succumb to accident, a few are abducted or killed, but most are eventually found. Not so with the truly mysterious disappearances. From the crew of the Marie Celeste to Jimmy Hoffa, Amelia Earhart, and Natalee Holloway, some people seem to have vanished without a trace. When missing persons are found, it is always through police work, confession, or accident never by 'psychic detectives'). But when the evidence is lacking and leads are lost, even police and forensic science can't always solve the crime.

Intuition

2008-11-10T17:05:00.001-08:00

Whether we call it gut feelings, a 'sixth sense,' or something else, we have all experienced intuition at one time or another. Of course, gut feelings are often wrong (how many times during aircraft turbulence have you been sure your plane was going down?), but they do seem to be right much of the time. Psychologists note that people subconsciously pick up information about the world around us, leading us to seemingly sense or know information without knowing exactly how or why we know it. But cases of intuition are difficult to prove or study, and psychology may only be part of the answer.

The Taos Hum

2008-11-10T17:02:00.000-08:00

Some residents and visitors in the small city of Taos, New Mexico, have for years been annoyed and puzzled by a mysterious and faint low-frequency hum in the desert air. Oddly, only about 2 percent of Taos residents report hearing the sound. Some believe it is caused by unusual acoustics; others suspect mass hysteria or some secret, sinister purpose. Whether described as a whir, hum, or buzz and whether psychological, natural, or supernatural no one has yet been able to locate the sound's origin.

Presidential Platforms

2008-09-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

What Are Small Town Values?

2008-09-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Again and again we have heard the same rhetoric from our politicians that they have "small town values;" however, when asked at the Republican National Convention, delegates could only define one small town value - traditional marriage. Everyone can identify a small town value when they see one, but creating a list of such values is quite difficult for many politicians. Many envision small town values to be similar to the archaic “1950s family,” but we see many of our “small town traditions” existing in large cities today. While we see a level of demoralization in the cities today, from graffiti to bodily exposure, we also see some semblance of a small town within communities in a large city. The problem with a large city is that those individual communities rarely, if ever, unite, unlike a small town which unites all its citizens regularly.

Strong Foundations
The most important part of a small town is its community backbone, a united group of individuals who regularly interact to ensure the continued prosperity and protection of their community. Organizations within the community promote family-oriented events and clean, conservative policies. While many of these organizations revolve around the spiritual communities, many secular programs, such as the Mayor's Youth, the Sheriff's Little Deputies, or little league baseball, provide many forms of activities for today's active youths. Within these organizations develops allegiances, respect for authority, and the affirmation of guidelines to promote structure.

Family
Small towns generally have people with large, extended families that meet regularly, either at festivals, church events, reunions, or regular Sunday dinner. In a small town, the focus on family encompasses first cousins, second cousins, great aunts and great uncles, and their families. In a large city, we see the focus is on the nuclear family. The interaction of the extended family maintains family and community traditions.

Traditions
Small towns have strong traditions which unify a group of people, such as a bonfire at a homecoming football game, a parade for a local festival, or even a rite of passage event for youths. A father taking his son hunting on the first day of duck hunting season is a simple rite of passage tradition. Even a simple tradition of eating Sunday dinner at Grandma’s house is a positive small town value. Small towns are a close-knit group of people who gather regularly, either formally or informally, to promote family and positive activities in the community. As the Mississippi Wildlife & Fisheries’ slogan goes: “Kids who hunt and fish don't steal and deal.”

Home
In many small towns, we continue to see one parent as the homemaker, either the mother or the father, whose roles are defined and maintained. And in small town families where we see both parents working, we continue to see parents supporting one another rather than battling each other over chores. Home-cooked meals and family suppers support the family structure. We see the parents with defined roles and the authority figures of the family instead being a child’s friend or a slave to the child’s activities. Stability of the family structure and the establishment of a healthy living environment promote positive behaviors.

Conservative Spending
With one parent as a homemaker, money is not as abundant as with both parents working. While this strains the family’s economic resources, we see families spend more conservatively, through shopping specials and maintaining priorities. Instead of buying the latest video game to keep the child amused, parents spend more time with the children and less time shopping for fancy gifts to keep the children busy.

Democratic Government
While the people of a small town respect those in authority, such as the Mayor and the Sheriff, we see a level of equality among all individuals. The Mayor or the Sheriff is usually no different than the common man, just a person with a different job. Instead of being whined and dinned in the high-end restaurants of the big cities, we see small town officials at the local dinners sharing stories and listening to the lasted gossip with the other guys or gals. We also see officials taking the effort to meet the people rather than elaborate on their policies in a debate. In a small town, it is not so much your political position or education as it is your demeanor and your ability to lead. We also see more people participating directly in the government in small towns, filling up School Board meeting rooms and writing letters to their local newspaper. The people make their own decisions and activity participate in all levels of the community and anyone among them may be chosen to lead the community.

Limited Class Difference
While there are differences in social and economic classes in small towns, there is not as large of a divide among the people as there is in a large city. When a low-income family is stricken with harder times, we see the family and the extended community supporting that family evermore. Either rich or poor, we see people maintain a common level of mannerisms in small towns that determine normal behavior. We also see small town communities attempt to halt the divide between rich and poor by passing decency laws or school uniform policies which retain some level of equality even between the rich and the poor.

Examining Psychic Powers in Science: The Power of the Paranormal in the Lab

2008-09-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

For most of us, psychic phenomena simply serves a side dish of silly, fun and a daily diversion from the seriousness of our own lives. Many people read their daily horoscopes in the newspaper, others visit sidewalk soothsayers in the hope of simply getting a little window of possibility into the wild and wooly world of the unknown and mysterious.

For a small select group of scientists and parapsychologists, this serious inquiry surpasses that of the occasional lighthearted look, and instead has become the focus of their lives work, their PASSION, their purpose and their primary field of study.

As someone who has had a lifelong passion for the unknown, a fascination with mystical and mysterious, I have often found it absolutely incredible that so many of the great discoveries and advancements in PSI research have gone reasonably un noticed by the greater population. At their core, each and EVERY paradigm shattering possibility that is passed represents another notch in our collective belt of potentials as people, both individually and as a whole.

When science can show through rigorous examination that there appears to be a significant mind to mind connection between people, I find that VERY exciting!

When the US government declassifies year's worth of tests and reports on the authenticity of remote viewing experiments, I find it equally as inspiring. When an internationally renowned team of physicians speak on the similarity of Near Death Experiences being reported in emergency and trauma wards throughout the world, this is powerful stuff!

When world class and respected authors, doctors, researchers and writers who dedicate huge chunks of their daily lives to the diligent study of the same, uniformly come to believe that there is FAR more to our ordinary reality than that which our modern materialistic model of the universe would have us to believe, I find this powerful beyond all measure.

So the next time you think that psychic phenomena are only relegated to that woman in the mall with the tacky neon sign on the porch, or the anonymous astrologer in the newspaper who promises that your planets are properly positioned for a great week, think again, look deeper and join those on the tipping point of the new intersection between science and spirit. If you are like me, you'll be happy you did!

Author: Ian Hollander

Haunted Lighthouses - New London Ledge Lighthouse

2008-09-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Located at the mouth of the Thames River, entrance to New London Harbor, Connecticut at the eastern end of Long Island Sound sits the New London Ledge Lighthouse. Built in 1909 on the Southwest Ledge, the lighthouse was originally called the Southwest Ledge Light, but to avoid confusion with another lighthouse in New Haven, the Southwest Ledge Light, the lighthouse was renamed to New London Ledge Light in 1910.

This lighthouse itself is a unique, one-of-a-kind structure with square red brick quarters topped with a mansard roof (a French type of roof designed to make maximum use of the interior space of the attic) and a circular lantern room. To appease the residents who didnt want to gaze upon an eyesore sitting in the sea, the lighthouse was built in Colonial and French architectural style in order to blend in with the large and historic homes on the shores.

The lighthouse was finally built after a half-century of petitions requesting an offshore lighthouse - the first one in 1845 - from mariners and residents stating the dangers to maritime traffic in the area due to the inadequcy of the four buoys in the harbor and the The New London Harbor Lighthouse on the shore. The Lighthouse Board detailed the inherent dangers to maritime traffic at New London to Congress in 1902 and 1903 and requested funds for constructing a lighthouse. The construction was completed in 1909. The United States Coast Guard officially took over the care of the lighthouse in 1939 and still keeps an eye on the place. Most of the stories of the ghostly lightkeeper have come from the Coast Guard crews manning the lighthouse.

New London Ledge is locally famous for the ghost nicknamed Ernie who allegedly haunts the lighthouse. The famous ghost legend Ernie was a lightkeeper supposedly jumped to his death from the roof of the lighthouse after learning that his wife ran off with the captain of the Block Island Ferry in 1936.

Ernie is said to make his presence known by opening and closing doors, washing the decks, operating the light and fog signal, and untying secured boats to let them drift away. Before the station was automated, Coast Guard crews on duty reported frequently hearing mysterious knocks on their bedroom doors in the middle of the night, doors opening and closing, the television being turned on and off repeatedly, and covers pulled off the end of their bed.

The New London Ledge Lighthouse was the last remaining manned lighthouse on Long Island Sound when it was finally automated in 1987. Since then, reports of Ernie's visits have dramatically decreased, most likely because there is hardly ever anyone there. This seems to be a relief to those who were stuck manning the light house. The final day of manned operation shows a log entry reading, "A Rock of slow torture. Ernie's domain. Hell on earth. May New London Ledge's light shine on forever because I'm through. I will watch it from afar while drinking a brew."

There have been investigations at the lighthouse. In the late '90s, a TV reporter from Japan spent a night inside the lighthouse to investigate the story of Ernie, and loud whispering noises were heard through the night, audible on camera. The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), who have become known by their series "Ghost Hunters" on the Sci-Fi Channel, investigated the place in 2005 but made no significant observations.

Today, the lighthouse is leased by the Coast Guard to the New London Ledge Lighthouse Foundation, partly funded by the City of New London. The lighthouse is used as a maritime classroom, while the Coast Guard continues to maintain the automated light. The group plans to eventually open the lighthouse as a museum and may offer overnight accommodations.

Author: Denise Villani