Write your post here.Investigating and Science

What do you consider "scientific" about paranormal field investigations? Or, what makes a field investigation scientifically valid?

Write your post here.Channeling

Channeling is where a person enters into an changed state of consciousness' which allows the person to become a instrument or 'channel' for the spirit of another, who can then use the channel to speak and take limited actions. This is, in essence, what a medium does to communicate with the dead. The channeling sometimes involves the identity of the channeled being taking full control of the channel for a short period of time. I am going to put aside the many of those who channel out there who are well aware they're lying to us. I do believe that it is possible for someone to really open themselves up to other spirits, whether of the dead or otherwise. But, I also believe that there isn't any real control over what spirit goes into us. We have little ability of our own to figure out spiritual beings. This lack is just part of our being material. Lying spirits abound. And once the lying spirit is in there, it can do serious damage to your soul. Your body and your brain are yours, but then some stranger comes in and starts playing around inside of them. It doesn't take long for it to settle in, rearrange the furniture, put up new walls, hang up family photos, and bring in some friends. That changes not just the arrangements, it changes your identity. Your body is part of who you are, but the visiting spirit may never have really had a material body and thus would have no idea of what it is like to be bodied. They never died because they never lived. (They won't tell you any of that, though.) There isn't enough room in there for the two of you at once. When that happens, channeling becomes much like being possessed by a demon. Even after the channeling is over, you're just not the same.

Ethics

As each day passes, I become more knowledgeable about things pertaining to the paranormal. Each day I try and set out to understand maybe, a different point of view, or different idea or theory, or even a different technique. Some of these things are difficult for me to clutch and understand, but that is OK, because I know it is all part of the adventure. There is one thing that I read about almost on a daily basis that I will never understand. I read about cemeteries, historical buildings, being vandalized or left in disarray. I read about homeowners that have requested the assistance of a paranormal team only to have their property damaged or left in disorder with their McDonald’s bags and empty soda bottles or energy drinks. It just astonishes me that this occurs. This act in its self, has nothing to do with the paranormal, it does have everything to do with your character. There have been many books written on the subject of ethics, etiquette, and respect. They tell the proper ways to conduct oneself while attending a social function, a religious ceremony, event, or meal. None of these books actually state how to conduct oneself during a paranormal investigation. I wonder why that is? That topic I will save for another day.  So, I ask you, do we really need a book to tell us that leaving a place in a worse condition than we found it is wrong? I think not. If you feel that you do need some type of direction then please, allow me. This way I can save you some time by not having to look for a book. I so heartily believe that it is a must; I repeat a must for investigators and paranormal teams to make sure we leave a place exactly as we found it. Maybe bring an extra trash bags with you so you can throw all your debris out or take it with you when you leave. Proper ethics would also insure that you and your team members leave things alone that don't belong to you; we need to show the proper respect for our client’s personal belongings. We must not just assume that it is ok to move something without permission and if you do get permission then make sure you move it back when you are done. Listen, we are all adults here, and all this stuff is common sense, and as adults we should know these things already. I cannot believe that this stuff goes on. When you don't respect others belongings, it leaves a real bad image not only for you as a person, but you as a team. Your actions will play a big part in the decision on allowing another team to also investigate that place or area. “Unintended consequences” Now I know you wouldn't want that would you? Do you want to know what is really nice about doings things proper? Well in this case it doesn't cost you an extra dime or time to have some ethics and in turn you leave the doors open for others to continue their research. Showing our clients the respect they deserve for their property in turn shows the client that we are serious about what we are doing. Come on people show some respect and use the manners you were taught at an early age.  

Making the right choice.

 As the team leader for our team, I often have to make choices. I try to consider , if the call I am going to make, is one filled with the right principles, reasons and purposes for our team. I mull over the decision and try and make the right call for our journey. Like some of you, I sometimes can feel things when we are investigating, I don't feel them all the time just sometimes and some of these are more intense than others. I really wish there was some way to explain these things to others without sounding like I am wacky. I am having a wee bit of a dilemma with a choice that I made on Sunday night during our investigation. While in the attic of one of the houses, we came in contact with something that seemed very angry and not so nice. I am not saying it was evil in the demonic sense, but more like it was pissed because we were up there. All I could see in my head was this spirit pacing back and forth with his hands clinched. So here is my dilemma. I did not mention this to any of the team because the team was so excited about being on this investigation. I didn't want them to miss out on a chance to possibly collect some valuable information. So I said lets continue. We had some things tossed our way. These things could have hurt someone if they would have made contact. After the first item was thrown (a small 24 volt transformer) I could see everyone was visibly shaken by this experience. As I look back now I probably should have said let's leave, but I didn't. I decided to see if it could do it again. I found to be angry myself, I don't know why I just was. I actually heard myself on the video getting more and more angry. I told it to do it again and this time it tossed a ceramic coffee cup and it landed at my feet. It was at this time I decide it was time to go. I know, I know, you are saying get to the point. Well my point is this. I think, I made a poor choice by allowing my overwhelming curiosity for the truth cloud my judgment. I feel as if I may have put my team in harm's way. I know there are so many variables to this following question, but was the right choice made and if you felt the way I did when we went up there would you have continued? ~ Tracy

What do you consider "scientific" about paranormal field investigations? Or, what makes a field investigation scientifically valid? 

 I think we should look at what a science actually is. According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of science is "knowledge attained through study or practice," or "knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method concerned with the physical world." What does that really mean? Science refers to a system of obtaining knowledge. This system uses observation and experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena. The term science also refers to the organized body of knowledge, people have gained using that system. Less formally, the word science often explains any methodical field of study or the knowledge gained from it. This is exactly what we do as investigators, isn't it? We set out to observe a phenomena and through experimentation we try to get a better understanding of this phenomena. We collect information and test new ideas while possibly disproving other ideas. Now if that is not a science then I don't know what is.-Tracy

Chain of Command. 

 The order in which authority and power in an organization is wielded and delegated from top management to every employee at every level of the organization. The chain of command, is the formal line of authority, communication, and responsibility within an organization. The chain of command identifies the clear assignment of duties and responsibilities. By utilizing the chain of command, and its visible authority relationships, the principle of unity of command is maintained. Unity of command means that each subordinate reports to one and only one superior. While it may have started with the military, most organizations have an established chain of command that is essential for effective management, accountability, and a strong means of operation. Is it important to have a chain of command on a Paranormal investigation team? I personally think it does.  IMO, I believe the Chain of command is very important in our organizations because it enhances the effectiveness of the overall team. Now, most of our teams are pretty relaxed, and easy going. Everyone gets along, there are no arguments, and we, all as a team get the job done, right. So what is the need for formal title like a chain of command. I will use my team for an example. I am Founder and lead investigator, Susan, is co-founder, investigator, and case manager, Dee and Jeff are both investigators and equipment techs. I know it sounds rude and crude but I am at the top of the chain and Dee and Jeff are on the bottom. Not a very long chain with only 4 links, but they are strong links and it is because of them the chain has not been broken. On our team each one of us knows where the buck stops. This may sound like a dictatorship but is not. My whole reasoning behind this post is this. When I was in the military there was a chain of command. During our war time missions our chain of command was condensed to the other service members that were in our fire team. These fire teams consisted of 4 members, each one had a specific duty within the fire team and there was one leader. The leader made all the calls and the others followed. What if the leader was taken out? would the other members know what to do? Is there one person on the team that would take over and continue the mission? Yes they knew what to do and who was in charge next. It was all given to them in the briefings and having a rank structure really was the key. I think these questions can apply to our investigation teams. If a team leader was to be taken out, not literally of course, but what if for some reason this leader got tangled up with a spirit on an investigation that kind of took over their abilities to think rational, or made them so emotional that they couldn't carry on, or what if the leader just became so sick the evening of the investigation that I couldn't attend would the other team members know what to do. When it comes to my team I believe they would. I have all the faith in the world in my team because for one of who they are and two this is part of our chain of command they each know what to do if something like this happens. They know who is to take charge next and handle the situation. It is all about the mission. I think we, could all agree that we as investigators would pretty much do anything to keep the mission going as long as it was not illegal, immoral, or unjust. So I believe that having a chain of command even if you don't call it a chain of command because it may be to formal is a must on our teams. The mission must continue. ~Tracy

PERCEPTIONS

Terms such as pedophilia  matrixing, apophenia, and simulacrum are terms paranormal investigators hear often. These terms pretty much mean the same thing. They are imagined perceptions of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist or our very own mind makes us see something that isn't really there. Skeptics love to use words like this to describe any evidence that we investigators may capture because I think that it is the easiest way for them to debunk our findings and to prove there point.  However, these words can in fact be used as true explanations for some of our findings. There are times that images we see, or electronic voice phenomena we hear could be created not so much by a spirit but by our own subconscious minds or by a reflection, or by another team member. I am a true believer of this. Some people like to explain how the pixels in your camera are not set right or because of the amount of light in the room can cause an anomaly. They talk about how sound waves work and because of how they work then EVP cannot be captured. I believe we as paranormal investigators should probably have an understanding knowledge of different types of sound waves and pixels and things such as EMF fields, radiation fields, and any other thing that could affect our evidence. Here is the thing though. Once we have gained the understanding on how such things work and we truly understand how these things work, does or can this knowledge make us lean more towards our evidence being not so credible. ~Tracy  

Setting Expectations

 Have you ever been contacted by a client who needed your help because they allowed a team in to their abode or business only to be left with nothing. I believe that people are either happy or unhappy with a level of service they receive based on whether it did or did not live up to their expectations. Let's face it - if you promise them the moon and the stars, they won't be happy when you only deliver the moon. Now if you had promised them only the hillside and delivered the moon, then they are stunned and amazed. We can determine how a client reacts to our services by providing them with a reasonable (a.k.a. easily attainable for us) set of expectations. I think it is a must that you advise them of the services you provide, perhaps even have it wrote down for them to read. Explain your process and the way you will be conducting the investigation in great detail. Let them be aware  of what is expected of them and what they can expect from you. When you set the clients' expectations for them, they don't have the chance to set those expectations anywhere else. It leaves no room for them to be overly demanding without seeming unreasonable. What I mean by demanding here is the clients persistence that what they are experiencing is let's say Uncle Wilfred. It is crucial that we do not inform the client that it is Uncle Wilfred until you have all your results. I think another important part would be not promising more. When you sit down with the client be reasonable and rational when setting the expectations and the services you will provide. The bottom line is that your clients don't know what to expect until you tell them. Set your clients' expectations at a reasonable level and then exceed them. Do this consistently and you'll watch your repeat business grow, thusly allowing you to continue your search. This is just my opinion ~ Tracy

 Drinking While Investigating

 My question is, do you allow members or guest of your team to consume alcohol beverages right before or during the scope of the investigation—i.e., “drinking on the job".  If you do, then please explain to me why you would.  I personally think, allowing your staff to drink on the job is the ultimate act of stupidity, irresponsibility, and disrespect for the welfare of your team and your client. Not only that, alcohol affects judgment and impairs one’s ability to rationalize or perform a function that requires effectual understanding or quick reaction. “Misreading” a situation is ordinary for anyone consuming alcoholic beverages, regardless of the amount consumed. Making a judgment call, responding to a pressure situation, can only be done with a clear mind. Alcohol is not a “performance enhancer”; but a sedative that affects the body almost immediately. Alcohol in your bloodstream affects your prefrontal cortex: the part of your brain responsible for logic and judgment. When it is sedated by alcohol, fears that would normally prevent you from performing certain actions are also sedated. This is why some people often refer to alcohol as "Liquid Courage." Alcohol depresses your nervous system and impairs your ability to process information. Your sense of judgment suffers and you are inclined to behave in ways you would not normally behave. People who suffer from loss of judgment due to alcohol often overstep boundaries, make poor decisions, exhibit loud and obnoxious behavior, and demonstrate emotional irrationality. I would even go so far as to say that most could have one drink and not really be affected as long as that one drink was not a gallon of Kentucky's finest. With all the effects that alcohol has on our bodies and minds, and with all the things we may encounter during an investigation, I would just assume that drinking during or right before an investigation would be highly discouraged, Am I wrong. or what ~ Tracy