Monthly Book Review (September): True Hauntings by Hazel Denning

Monthly Book Review (September): True Hauntings by Hazel Denning
 
I found True Hauntings by Hazel Dennings extremely interesting - not so much because it detailed - extensively - another haunting case, but more because it did so in a more personalised way which made me feel as if I was experiencing everything in the recounted stories. However, as is evidenced by the title, these weren't, apparently, tales that were fabricated by the author's - or indeed, anyone's - imagination, but more accounts of real events that happened to, not surprisingly, real people.
Interestingly, in the Introduction, the author tells us that she was the President for the Parapsychology Association of Riverside, as well as seemingly a paranormal investigator who worked with psychics. I say seemingly as there is still a lot of questions in my mind. But I suppose that is to be expected since it is only the first page!
As I read on, I discovered more. Here, in my hands was a book that was about to lead me into the stories which would be told from the perspective of the spiritual entities which the tales themselves concerned. Not a book that would be accounting from a third person perspective, but rather in first-person. I have not come across a lot of books like this one and as a result, my intrigue and curiosity got the better of me and I continued reading as Chapter 1 approached.
It seemed that the organisation that Hazel Dennings briefly referred to wasn't so much about researching ESP, PK and the like in experiments undertaken in a scientific environment and scientific methods. That the organisation was concerned in exploring the paranormal in such a way was a mistaken assumption on my part, for the name itself sounded more scientific than 'Ghostbusting Association'. Indeed, from how the author described its activities, the Association sounded very much like a spiritually-minded real-life Ghostbusting organisation - just with less than three members. And instead of PKE meters being used, mediums were being employed. However, I was captivated still despite this, so I pushed any further judgements, doubts and criticisms to one side and read on. Unfortunately, my questioning mind turned itself on automatically when the author explains about her original ideas about what to put in and what to take out of the book, since she made the claim that "possession" and "psychic attack" have 'become so prevalent in our society, and so much pain and suffering results from this type of invasion into human affairs, that I have decided it must be included in any examination of hauntings.' Hmm. Maybe there were more such events occurring in 1996 than there are now. Still, this interesting point just meant that the chocolate ice cream I was now, metaphorically, wolfing down had some interesting additions that I had neither expected nor ordered. I once again pushed my left brain hemisphere to one side, and tried, once more, to read on, unperturbed by my own mind.
I have to chuckle with how the first chapter starts with the question, 'Have you ever had an eerie feeling that something was in the room with you, even though you could not see anything?', because I can honestly say that the answer for me is certainly yes. I once had, in 2015, a persistent sensation on my neck, and initially, I disregarded it, as I thought it was my imagination. But then it continued, so I thought I should send my finger to probe, and I discovered that it was a scarab beetle with a gorgeously metallic green shielding. Sadly, I killed it. But then it's not everyday that a tickling sensation on one's neck is due to a dawdling beetle! The more I read in the first chapter, the more I realised - and understood - why I had enjoyed the book so much the first time I had read the book (some three or four years ago). I hoped that I would gain the same sense of adventure, mystery and intrigue that the book had persuaded me to develop then. If my questioning mind allowed it now, of course.
Whist I wasn't (and still not) entirely familiar with the author, nor who exactly she was, I found I could breathe some fresh air as references were made to people and organisations that I did, at last, recognise. The inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, was referred to in his attempts to create a device that would permit the picking up of spirit voices. Interestingly also, some spiritual friends had, recently, referred to him - but in terms of his attempts to create a time-travel machine. The Parapsychology Foundation, the Society for Psychical Research and notable figures, like Florence Cook and DD Home, were also included and described, as well as the American Society for Psychical Research with its member at the time being W. Garrett.
The author immediately struck me with being quite knowledgeable about what she was talking about. This was not a usual spiritualistic book. This was a spiritually-minded book with a difference. She recounted a couple of examples of OBEs and past life recollections and, to my immense surprise, even included, though very briefly, how a child identified the murderer in an Indian case, because she recognised him when she was reborn. As interesting as the speculations and views and research details were given both by the author herself and about specialising institutions and individuals, I pondered, not for the first time, whether past lives - the subject being discussed in the current chapter - really are past lives. Especially since it is suggested that we do not quite understand time as such, as well as the idea that time is an illusion, and is merely a concept that only humans have created or conceived of. What if "past lives" are actually other, multi-dimensional lives which fragments of the soul, like the horcruxes of Lord Voldemort from JK Rowling's Harry Potter series*, experience? And that such fragments of the soul (regardless of what the "soul" actually is, irrespective of whether humans can objectively find evidence of its existence) can live out lives, just like the ones here that we are all experiencing on Earth as individuals, co-exist separate from each other. If this is true, then its implications for mediumship are also interesting, as well as life in the "physical" dimension in general, since perhaps the so-called spirit that the medium is (hypothetically of course) channeling from or communicating with is such a fragment, or "horcrux", not the whole spirit. It would only be the whole spirit or soul once all of the fragments had been unified. So potentially if ailments or disease had a past-life origin (and in this instance, by 'past life', we mean multi-dimensional life/lives) then such ailments could be spontaneously be caused by whatever is happening at the same exact moment in this life as what is happening to the person's other "horcruxes" in the other parallel lives. Then again, as with all the explanations available for past lives, either all of them are possible at the same time, or each one is possible depending on the person's beliefs about what past lives are. So in a sense, what one's beliefs are becomes that person's reality - so a person who believes past lives are a load of nonsense thus have past lives that equal that effect, whilst another's past lives who believes them to have existed in the past have such "past" lives. Whatever the case may be regarding what past lives actually are, it seems that no matter what explanation each individual adopts regarding the phenomena, they will all find some way to support it, whether that be in anecdotal evidence, scientific findings, or some type of personal philosophy.
Carl Jung's ideas about everyone being connected to each other through the collective unconscious could be easily attributed to the multi-dimensional idea about past lives. This means that 'Cleopatra syndrome' in the context, could be explained by simply that everyone is connected at such a level and, perhaps, everyone has a horcrux of everyone else whether that be in this lifetime or the parallel lives that everyone is experiencing at every one moment.
However, this is all wild, though exciting, speculation, and since this is a book review, not a personal interview, the book must once more be picked up, read and then criticised.
Having got another overview and more material on which to ponder and reflect, I swiftly moved to the second chapter. This, again, proved interesting. The first part of the chapter concerned a personal experience that was the reason for why and how the author had got into ghostbusting people's haunted houses. In this, she relates details about how, one night, she'd experienced real terror with strange noises and misplaced objects in her home. After sharing some of these details with a friend who had knowledge about this area, she tried to demand that the spirit in her home leave her alone, as she'd been advised.
The chapter then goes on to describe one of the first haunting cases that Denning dealt with, which was about a woman who feared death and requested the author's help. This was relieved through the medium picking up and subsequently dealing with the woman's grandmother's presence and the fact that she did not know she was dead. The medium also picked up on a past life that involved a beheading, which accounted for why the woman suffered terrible headaches. The fear of death, meanwhile, was due to the woman trying to 'bottle-up' her psychic abilities to appear to be normal to her colleagues at college. The author then tries to explain why the grandmother's spirit found herself trapped in this physical plane of life and the various emotions and feelings she'd probably went through as a consequence. Towards the end of a chapter, another case is described, which was also interesting, though different to the first.
It was beginning to appear that in each chapter, which was dedicated to a different area or aspect of hauntings, included cases that Denning had investigated which specifically related to that particular domain. Certainly this seemed to be the case. It was interesting to read about how the author first came across mediumship herself - through a neighbour, and how the medium concerned benefited enormously from her spirit guide, Alicia, a girl who had died at seventeen from starvation during the Civil War, being around her home whilst she tended to a sick husband and suffered from depression. The author then focuses on spirits that help, continuing their duties like they had when they were alive - doing household chores for the family with which they'd lived. Such activities also included the moving of furniture, and the author cites Matthew Manning as having experienced this. Another reference to a person with whom I am familiar. Another case then grabbed my attention. This one concerned spirits inhabiting the home of a young family, with the spirits convinced that they are still the owners of the house. To add to the haunted aura of the house, one room refuses to cool down, despite the windows being kept open. The story which then unfolded was as follows (p.35): 'The three spirits had been "living" in that house for about thirty years.The woman, Doris, and one of the men, Edmund, were brother and sister. They were the last of the original family that had owned the house. They had lived in it together until Doris and her boyfriend, Richard, became engaged. Edmund, furious with his sister, killed Richard and buried him behind the fireplace so the crime would not be discovered. When Doris and Edmund died within a short period of time of each other, the three spirits found themselves still together in the old house.' So this seemed like another case of spirits being stuck on earth, unaware that they were actually dead, not alive. Another account that Denning gives concerns a couple who bought a house, and had decided to remove a wall to expose their nice garden. However, as a result of this wall starting to be removed, strange things began to afflict the couple - workers would be attacked by an unseen person, whilst tools would go missing. Consequently, workers would refuse to continue and quit the job at hand. In turned out that not only had the spirit responsible - one of the previous owners of the house - didn't realise that she was dead, but she also desired to make the new owners' lives as unpleasant as possible, because she did not like them changing the decor of the interior of the house, nor the removal of privacy by dismantling the wall. Once again, however, Dennings and the new owners tried to convince the spirit that she was dead, that they were sorry for the changes to the house that the spirit disliked, but that they were the now the owners of the house, not her. The author concludes the chapter with explaining how emotions can result in turmoil which then attracts disruptive spirits into the life of the victims concerned.
The next chapter sounded particularly exciting, since it was going to deal with benevolent spiritual entities. Indeed, it was: there were acounts dealing with 'spirit manifestations', the sound of a baby crying...But the medium who helped to ivestigate did not pick up any spirits in the house - at least during the time they were visiting. However, upon a follow-up visit, Gertrude the medium did pick up on a spirit, contrary to last time. The spirit she encountered was that of the deceased grandmother, who 'welcomed her graciously'. This spirit made a request of the medium, which was to reassure the family that she was not earthbound and that she could go whenever she pleased.
Another event was when a couple had parked outside the author's house and were pleaing for help because the wife had seen her father who had been dead for two years and she was now, consequently, experiencing extreme terror. The author includes an experience which involved her personally, and was where a psychic whom she was visiting picked up on the fact that her father-in-law had passed over and subsequently gave an accurate description of them. The psychic then relayed his messages, which the author's husband was able to accept too.
It seemed to me that there was plenty of variety when it came to the experiences that were described in the book. I turned to the next chapter, eager to read more. The next chapters dealt with loved-ones that, for one reason or another, had remained bound to earth, unable to pass into the spirit world, assisting, practically, those suffering from bereavement, accounts of spirits that have become restless due to having gone through a violent death, discarnate entities that are bound by an emotional attachment, as well as spiritual entities that are in need of help.
In this chapter, one client felt during the night that she was not alone. When she attempted to move her head, to her horror, she could not move it. (This appears to be a good example of sleep paralysis, which is normal and is part of the process that occurs during sleep and prevents one from acting out their dreams as doing so may potentially harm or kill the person concerned.) When she tried to scream, she found that she couldn't. Eventually, these feelings subsided and she managed to get out of bed. These events repeated continually for a while, then she was convinced she heard someone say to her to speak to them. When she opened her eyes, 'A young man knelt by her bed, looking at her. Again she tried to scream for help, but only a low moan came from her throat. She closed her eyes for a few seconds; when she opened them again the apparition was gone.' Upon investigation, the medium came across an angry spirit present. After doing a ritual involving the medium walking around the client three times and the sprinkle of herbs, the angry spirit found to his annoyance that he could not get to his victim anymore. The author then began to lecture the spirit on how her can get help in his spiritual dimension and find peace of mind. However, the angry spirit then said to Gertrude the medium, 'Will you tell that bitch to shut up so I can think?' After a few moments' silence, the author reattempted the lecture, after which another spirit had become present and was talking to the original spirit. Not too long later, however, both spirits left for good, never to disturb the young girl again.
The book provided an interesting contrast to a more sceptically-minded book that I am currently reading in my spare time, called Strange North-East Derbyshire, by William J Eyre, which archives the various ghost hauntings or paranormal occurrences in that county of England, which the author amongst others have gone and investigated. However, although the stories given to them about the hauntings etc are related, numerous accounts have easily been explained more normally (e.g. a mobile-phone type buzzing being the result of a mobile phone mast emitting not far away, as well as objects suddenly falling off shelves and breaking as a consequence of large vehicles whizzing past on the main road, whose vibrations cause the breakages rather than a poltergeist), without any mention of ghosts or poltergeists. Despite this, a small minority could not readily be explained and, it seems, are still in need of a satisfactory explanation.
Although I found True Hauntings to be a most interesting read, I could not help but wonder how many of the accounts described were really caused by ghostly entities. Perhaps this did not matter if these explanations fitted the belief systems of those concerned, and that the phenomena did get sorted out in some way and at some time, even if not directly as a result of the two investigators. Needless to say, the book was useful in providing an alternative (although some may argue outdated) way of looking at haunting phenomena. Personally, though, I'd think I'd prefer an explanation that was very much "this-world" orientated, than an explanation concerning the existence of angry spirits that refuse to rest and who vent their emotions by breaking my valuable possessions!



*For those unfamiliar with JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, the 'horcrux' was an object or person on which the main evil character, Lord Voldemort's seven fragments of his soul were embedded. One of these was a ring, and another was the main good character, Harry Potter. However, in the context of "past lives", the horcrux is used as a term to refer to the fragments of one's souls which may exist as separate personalities in other, parallel dimensions and which are experiencing life separately from one another but at the same time (i.e. each is occurring spontaneously all the time). 

References

True Hauntings by Denning, H. (1996). USA: Llewellyn Publications.

Strange North-East Derbyshire by Eyre, William J. (2016). Croydon: CPI Group.

Lucid Dreaming

Lucid dreaming is a subject that has only in recent years received a massive amount of investigation by scientists and lay people alike. But what is it? This article aims to answer that question in detail, as well as attempt to share how it can be done.

Although it is a subject that may easily be linked with New Agers, it is not restricted to just helping individuals uncover and realise their full potentiality and spiritual being, but it can also be useful in tackling more ordinary problems or perceived issues that hold people back from being entirely successful in their day to day lives - for example, a fear of heights could be treated through a good dose of lucid dreams that are aimed to specifically medicate the issue. It could also be used alongside or like self-hypnosis in such a way. Or, for those who like adventure, fantasy and supernatural abilities, a lucid dream could be arranged that incorporates such things - like levitation, or going on an adventure similar to Bilbo Baggins' in JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. Hopefully, at this point, one thing is clear: the possibilities for what lucid dreams can be used for are limitless. But enough of the possible ways in which lucid dreaming can be used: What are they and how does one get to have them?

What are lucid dreams?

According to an interview with lucid dreamer, Beverly D'Urso on psychologytoday.com, 'Even though the term "lucid" means clear, lucid dreaming is more than just having a clear dream. To have a lucid dream you must know that it’s a dream while you’re dreaming. That's it. It doesn't require that you can control anything in your dream, though control is what beginning lucid dreamers often aim at. People get attracted to lucid dreaming because they want to be able to do things they could never do in waking reality, for example, taste fire or fly to the sun.'

   Although there are some differences in techniques recommended by lucid dream experts for lucid dreaming, one of the starting points that appears to be universal is asking oneself, 'Am I dreaming?' at every available moment during the day, in order to get into the habit of being able to ask that in a dream. Yet in order for this to work, 'dream signs' within dreams must be spotted. Like traffic signs on roads help to pinpoint when a person must turn off the road in order to reach their destination, dream signs trigger one's consciousness to realise that they are dreaming - whilst still in the dream. It is usually recommended to keep a dream diary in order to help identify these signs. Doing so can be an insightful experience, because dreams can also be analysed to find deeper insight about oneself.

Recalling dreams

As has already been said, one of the crucial things needed for successful lucid dreaming is the ability to recall one's own dreams. This can be done by keeping a dream diary. A dream diary is usually a notepad that is kept under or near the pillow, and which is kept exclusively for writing dreams upon waking up. There are a few tips that can be followed to make recall easier, and these are:

1. Maintain body position - this means that, once awake, the position in which your body is in is maintained, not changed. So if your body is on its side when you wake up, ensure that you keep it on its side whilst you write your dream down. Only when you have written all the details about your dream that you remember can you change your body's position.

2. Associate a colour with your dream - if, for any reason, you cannot immediately write your dream down, try to associate an appropriate colour to your dream. For example, if you had a dream to do with a body of water, associate the colour blue or turquoise to the dream. Or if the dream involved a sense of calm, it could be associated with the colour blue. If it was to do with healing or greenery, the colour green could be associated with it. Perhaps the dream involved fire or heat - in which case, the colour red could be linked with the dream. Such colour association may differ from person to person and in any case, they  must have the right meaning for the dreamer concerned.

3. Associate a feeling or emotion with the dream - this is the same as the above step, but instead of a colour being associated with the dream, it is an emotion or feeling. It needn't be just one feeling - it could be two. But these must be relevant for the dream and if too many emotions are linked to the dream, this may hinder dream recall, not help it, due to confusion occurring. If a dream involved getting angry towards someone, the associated emotion could therefore be anger. But if a number of emotions were experienced during the dream, it is best to pick the one that is most meaningful or dominant. 

4. Associate a word with the dream - Again, this is the same as steps 2 and 3, but with a word instead. If the dream was to do with water, the most relevant word for it would be 'water'. If the dream was to do with riding horses, the word could be 'horses' or 'horse riding' depending on which is easiest to think of or recall later on. 

There are a couple of reasons why dream diaries are so important. The first reason is that they help the dreamer to become familiar with their dreams and their contents. This is vital, since in order to get to the point within the dream where you realise that you're dreaming, you must be able to recognise that you are dreaming. If you have no idea about the contents of your dreams, you may be unable to become lucid in your dreams. Or you do, but have no conscious or deliberate control over the dream and becoming lucid with the dream. This, fortunately, is where dream signs come in.

Finding the Dream Signs

In Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, authors Stephen LaBerge and Howard Rheingold define dream signs as: 'peculiarities that appear often enough in your dreams to be reliable signposts of the dream state'. This means that anything that strikes the dreamer as "peculiar" or unusual within the dream is a dreamsign and, should they come across the same or similar sign, can help them to realise, whilst in the dream, that they are dreaming. Once they realise this, they can then take control of the dream and consciously be able to change or add to the overall dream. For example, if a lucid dreamer had a dream to do with a deceased parent, they could easily realise that they were dreaming because this parent was deceased in real life. Although they may not have dreams about this deceased person often, the deceased parent would be a dream sign, because it would trigger the realisation that they were dreaming, since they are able to converse with them (which in real life is not as easy, even if it may be possible ). As a result, they can become lucid and talk to them about more personal matters, or exchange messages with a more personal tone.

Conquering Problems with Lucid Dreams

In her book, Lucid Dreaming, author Charlie Morley provides ideas for how problems could be dealt with, using a technique called 'self-incerption', which works like self-hypnosis by the planting of a suggestion with regard to the problem. These suggestions must have strong intent, and should be spoken in the lucid dream. Morley suggests that in order to tackle, for instance, issues with self-worth, the person should call out, once lucid, 'I am loved, loving and loveable in every single way.' 

If, however, the answer to ongoing problems is less clear cut, the dreamer could, once lucid, ask one of the dream characters questions concerning the reasons why certain problems are going on. These should help the person tackle the same issues in real life.

 

A Final Note

Lucid dreaming is one of those abilities in which practice makes perfect: the more you try for a lucid dream, the more you will succeed. Even if it is difficult initially to become lucid within the dream, it should come eventually, provided that the person is both motivated and flexible enough. Lucid dreaming could be used to have adventures, be like superheroes, or to heal problems in one's life. But they could also be used to find solutions for problems that are difficult to access or obtain in normal waking life. The possibilities are limitless and once one's own journey into lucid dreaming begins, it never ends.

Further Reading 

There are plenty of good resources available for the interested reader in order to find out more. Some good books are listed below, as well as some useful websites.

Brogaard, B - Psychology Today: Lucid Dreaming and Self-Realization. [Last accessed: 9/8/2016]
Lucidity Institute (founded by Stephen LaBerge, and is dedicated to researching lucid dreaming)   [Last accessed: 9/8/2016]
Harary, K and Weintraub, P (1989) - Lucid Dreaming in 30 Days. USA: St Martin's Press.
LaBerge, S & Rheingold, H (1990) - Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming. New York: The Random Publishing House.
Morley, C. (2015) - Lucid Dreaming. Publisher: Hay House.
Turner, Rebecca - World of Lucid Dreaming: What is Lucid Dreaming? [Last accessed: 9/8/2016]

Near Death Experiences and Deathbed Visions: Evidence For An Afterlife?

Introduction
Many, though not all, people have a fear of death. This is perhaps not surprising as it may seem that such a fear is socialised into us from an early age, if not directly then indirectly, as such a response may be observed by a young child about the adults around them. However, if there was substantial enough evidence in support of the existence of an afterlife, such a fear would not only be unnecessary, but illogical - provided that such an post-mortem existence is pleasant, and maybe better than existence as a mortal human being.
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are one of a few well-known areas of the "paranormal" that directly support such a notion. This is combined with death-bed visions provided by patients before they pass away. This article will dip investigate NDEs and death-bed visions, with an eye on how well they can provide substantiation for the existence of such a spiritual existence.

Photographing the soul
A number of individuals have tried to "photograph the soul", whilst others have attempted to discover how much the soul weighs by weighing people who at any moment were about to die. 

Near-Death Experiences
Death-bed Visions
Fact or Fantasy? The explanations

Monthly Book Review (June): Aliens & Abductions by Jenny Randles

       Introduction

I recently counted how many of Jenny Randles' books I had on my 'Paranormal' bookshelf, and to my immense surprise I discovered I have four books in total! So I thought I'd give one of them a read to get a taste of what her books were like. And I was in for another, but delightful, surprise...
                             

Aliens and Abductions by Jenny Randles

Jenny Randles' book is like no other I have read. I was in for another surprise. Whilst I am a member of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), I am also a member of the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena (ASSAP). So naturally I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the author was one of the founder members of ASSAP. Its sceptical approach was like a breeze compared to the previous books I'd read on the other, more Fox Mulder-minded end of the viewpoint spectrum. Intrigued, I ploughed forward.
     The book began with an introduction which spun, like a spider's web, a fascinating history of UFOs and abductions which captivated my interest to the extent that I thought I was caught by a spell. It outlined the author's uncertainty about whether she should get involved with investigating certain cases, as well as describing the types of requests for help she would receive on a typical day. She then goes on to describe an example of a particular abduction-type case in which "Alan" from Stirlingshire experienced a series of events in which, whilst he was in a dreamlike state, he would go through physical attacks on his body. He began, after witnessing the magnitude of the depth of interest in aliens that the general public at the time was going through, to suspect that either he had undergone a series of experiments by aliens (and obviously survived) or that he had '...been taken away on some fantastic craft' (and obviously survived). There was, naturally, no physical, substantial evidence to prove either possibility, but the pull towards sharing the belief that an alien abduction had occurred with several million members of the public was strong.
   Randles explains how she responded, and discusses how witnesses like Alan often keep their abduction experience secret and do not tell others about it. This, Randles points out, goes against the common notion amongst sceptics that abductees seek the limelight in regard to their abduction. The author cements this point by relating the results of a study she conducted which used 74 British abductees. Out of this group, only 4 admitted that they would be willing to tell members of the public about their abduction. This, Randles explains, is because they feel 'tainted, blame themselves, are certain that nobody can understand what has happened and that if they talk they will be locked away as a lunatic.' This is, of course, understandable. But why do sceptics still, according to Randles, think that abductees seek the limelight when it comes to their experience?
Alan further relates how he had emotionally felt about the experience, which went along the lines of feeling complete terror at the same time as quiet acceptance of what had just happened. Not surprisingly, he also needed help to come to terms with the trauma of it.
   Randles then discusses the problems that abductees face when looking for someone or somewhere that will help them cope with having gone through the terrifying experience. There are many problems with the profession of the individual who is consulted, as each is approaching the abduction from their own point of view, regardless of whether they have medical knowledge or experience with dealing with abductees. Of course, if one was to consult a closed-minded person, they might end up worse off than before the consultation. Interesting stuff. And I was still hooked like a fish on a fishing line.
    I certainly agree with Randles' line that one must suspend belief (and I'd add 'disbelief' onto that too) and follow where the evidence leads. I eagerly turned over the page, curious as to what Randles was going to suggest would be a helpful way of viewing the abductions as a whole. But first, an analogy.
   Although I do not watch soaps on television, reading the analogy that Randles gave was certainly deja vu. It was like the monkey illusion video by Daniel Simons (which I have watched five times): I'd read about it before and could immediately recall what point she was going to make. So the tale about the uproar the public made about Deirdre Rachid going to jail in a fictional television drama was something I could easily recall. But without a doubt, it was a good point that Randles made using it: that it (p.9) '...shows people can at times find it hard to see the dividing line between fact and fiction, or between real people and strongly portrayed characters.' In Sociology, this phenomenon is explored by postmodernist sociologists and is referred to as 'hyper-reality'. It is also well understood, in my opinion, by horror movies such as The Exorcist. Although most people do not have a real experience of possession or poltergeist/PK events (except, of course, from a lucky or unlucky few), they will naturally draw knowledge or information from that presented to them in horror moves such as The Exorcist since they have usually no experience of the phenomena portrayed. However, when they experience real possession - if that's possible in the true sense of the word - or real poltergeist or PK events, their viewpoint of the situation will be drawn from that which they had made of it from the product of the mass media (which was made at an unconscious level). A friend of mine, for instance, wouldn't let her daughter play with my tipping-table because of fears that it was like the Ouija board. Yet the family are not believers in the paranormal. So the mother's concern for her daughter is clearly drawn from negative assumptions created through watching fictional films about people getting possessed by Ouija boards (since she herself has not had any real experience of one).
    While Randles concludes that something need not be truly reality in order for a large number of people to perceive it to be so, I might contemplate that this may be due to a type of placebo effect. If a person believes that the sugar pill is the desired medicine and that it will cure them of their illness, the result of them making a full recovery would work in one of two ways:
a) their belief that the medicine works makes it appear so (a kind of pseudo-remission perhaps)
or
b) their belief that the medicine works makes it happen on a literal level (i.e. the belief makes the recovery really happen because the belief made it a real change, not simply making it seem as if a recovery had happened).
In the same way, perhaps the people's level of belief was so great that it made it real to them on some level - perhaps not necessarily on a physical level however.
     Randles' further discussion is nonetheless interesting: even if people were deluding themselves, the evidence suggests that there is something really happening, regardless of whether it involved real aliens abducting people or not. Indeed, the Ufologists claiming to believe that real-life cases were caused literally by aliens would increase sales, as clearly this would entice mystery-loving groups of book lovers to buy the book, due to the sheer immensity of the intrigue created.
     I enjoyed reading the 'History' section that followed. Although I've never been one for the existence of fairies, I've loved - and still love - the idea of elves. Perhaps I've watched The Lord of the Rings too often. How these mythical beings may be interpreted as aliens was an idea that I was keen to explore. But there was more intrigue in store for me. Why is it that sightings of 'flying saucers' was only made in 1947? Why did tales of alien abductions only commence in 1957? I was confused: if aliens really existed, why was this the case? This can of course be clearly explained by the fact that not every experience or abduction is necessarily reported. But even so, why aren't some reports in existence from before 1947 and 1957?
      Randles then explains about why hypnosis is not a good tool to use to excavate out an abduction experience. As a student of psychology, I know that hypnosis is dubious. When it comes to eyewitness testimony, the cognitive interview provides a rich and more accurate account of what was seen and experienced than hypnosis which provides an almost excessively elaborate account. Again, it was no surprise to me that hypnosis wasn't necessarily a good way to get reliable information about what happened when the strange lights or UFO was spotted. Hey presto, after the regression, there is now an elaborate tapestry of how in the time lapse the witness was abducted by aliens. Of course, if the experience was so traumatic that it had to be shoved into the back of one's mind, then the repressed memory would be retrievable through hypnosis. But false allegation of sexual abuse have been made by individuals on the basis on initial idea and then substantiated by trawling through the tonnes of memories -both real and fabricated - locked away in the recesses of their mind.
     Randles looks at the similarities and differences between historical and more modern cases of abductions. Consistency in details hinted at something 'real' going on, whatever that might be, whilst general similarities and slight differences indicated something going on at a more mental level, influenced by cultural differences. Historical accounts of fairies, such as the case experienced by teenager Anne Jeffries in 1645 are described and analysed in detail. Although it concerned entities that were described as fairies, it shared some features with modern day alien abductions, such as loss of time and an interest in her body (resembling, of course, the loss of time often reported by abductees as well as the often reported interest taken in the abductee's body by aliens).
Another interesting area Randles probed was the differences between cultures, where encounters with aliens are replaced by those of 'little people' (hobbits, I wonder?). Another case Randles highlights involves a woman who experiences sensory deprivation whilst in an altered state and reports having been abducted. To me, there seemed some correlation between altered states of consciousness and abduction cases. Perhaps ASCs are a most convenient time for aliens to abduct the witnesses?
  More compelling cases of abductions are related. I loved how jam-packed the book was with all these cases - there are too many to describe here. It was interesting to read about the experiences witnesses had during the war, as one of the areas of Ufology I am most interested in are the reports of the 'foo fighters' which the pilots of both sides of the war - the Allies and the Germans - reported seeing. I was hoping these would be included later on.
   The case of Eileen proved interesting, too. Her abduction seemed to share many of the features of the typical abduction scenario, but also some slightly different ones. Again, she saw a UFO, which is described in a rather captivating way: the huge 'thing' as it was termed was 'a large oval filled with light emerging from holes in the side and with quills like those of a porcupine on its edge.' I can relate to how the witness might have felt at the bizarreness of what she saw, since I had  seen an unidentifiable object (which wasn't saucer-shaped) up in the sky, amongst the clouds in December 2010. But I try not to think about it too much in order to preserve my memory of it.
Another aspect of the book that I was rather enjoying was the immensity of Ufology-type jargon that I was learning: from the 'Oz Factor' (named after the Wizard of Oz story which features Dorothy being "abducted" by a tornado and taken to a strange land called Oz), which the author used to refer to the typical features of abductions - time lapse, dizziness, 'spiritual enlightenment' or development of psychic abilities after the experience. Eileen's experience, like that of other abductees' proved life-changing and after it occurred, she changed career.
   Randles then goes on to explore how UFOs came to be saucer-shaped. I enjoyed reading this bit, as it was rather new to me and was interesting from a sociological viewpoint, because of the manner in which the media shaped people's perceptions of what UFOs might look like took shape as a consequence of a major newspaper article. This portion of the chapter was supplemented with a picture of the experient - Kenneth Arnold - whose publicised story molded and gave birth to, countless subsequent reports of saucer-shaped unidentifiable crafts. But whilst the trend in the subsequent increase of saucer-shaped UFOs is interesting, there are, in my opinion, many different ways of approaching it when it comes to arriving at an explanation. Perhaps people opened up to reporting their real experiences to the media, having realised that they will not be ridiculed so much for opening up. Or perhaps they did so for publicity. Alternatively, it was a real phenomenon which morphed into the viewers' expectation of aliens and/or a saucer-shaped craft. Andrew Collins' book, Light Quest suggests that they are plasma forms which morph from telepathy and shape-shifting into the object of what the experient expects to see. But I was getting ahead of myself.
   There was so much intrigue that grabbed my attention within the book. I came to feel as if I was somehow reliving one of the UFO-based X-Files episodes. All the mystique and magic was here, within this book, whether or not the subjects in the case studies had seen a real UFO or not. A couple more cases were described before, to my delight, I started to read about Betty and Barney Hill and their supposed experience. All the suspense was here, and clearly their story was a good one. A flying pancake floating towards them with figures on a corridor clearly visible (with the aid of binoculars), with the necessary feeling that whoever was in the flying saucer was after them. Another usual feature of these abduction or UFO cases is that the experients tend to be in an altered state of consciousness (ASC). Strange abduction-type dreams plagued first Betty then her husband Barney, resulting in a kind of paranoia which is not untypical of abductees.
    I was pleased to see that ghost-hunter Hanz Holtzer featured occasionally in the book. In a case concerning a teenage girl which he investigated, in 1968, physical abnormalities were reported after the girl had seen the cigar-shaped UFO: she suffered 'powerful migraines and two red rings formed on her abdomen' and unusual changes in her menstrual cycle were also experienced. Hypnosis was performed which dredged up "memories" of seeing a light in her bedroom, being struck by a beam of light and then being surrounded by aliens that took ova samples from her, to find out if she could give them a baby.
     Because hypnosis was and is so often used in relation to abduction stories, hypnosis would feature quite often in the cases related by Randles. It was pause for reflection once more, since there are few tools available to UFOlogists that investigate real abduction cases - interviews with the witness can only provide so much information. But if experiences such as that investigated by Holtzer are brought up to the surface, one may wonder whether it is actually better to keep those "memories" hidden, under a metaphorical lock-and-key within one's subconscious mind, if memories they really are. Some witnesses' recollections under hypnosis prove to be so traumatic that they refuse to undergo anymore and go through serious consequences in their own lives as a result.
      One concept that Randles' explains, 'cultural tracking' was an idea that was familar to me, even if the terminology used wasn't. It added a satisfactory sociological spin to the discussion about UFOs and abductions and suggested that such things may not be so extraterrestrial after all. It argued that whilst there was no evidence to prove concepts mentioned by the aliens encountered like 'advanced propulsion systems', there was evidence enough to prove that something real was happening, whatever that 'something' might be, since the similarities between cases were sufficient to suggest that there was 'something' going on. But what? Randles clearly explains that there is no easy way to explain what exactly might be the root of why there are so many similarities. But she gives an in-depth analysis of what some of the possible explanations might be, as well as speculating that the evidence from the witnesses' reports is reasonable to suggest that 'advanced alien technology' is in existence. But, as she points out, many of the features such as the person being transported by a beam of light can be imagined easily and occur in many science fiction films. She also compares some aspects of the more modern forms of technology which we more-or-less take for granted with how people only a century ago would have seen them - as merely possible in science fiction stories and films. In this way, she suggests that technology such as transportation through beams of light may one day be possible, even if they are currently seen as flights of fancy at the moment. Just like how the more incredible pieces of technology, like holographic imaging, were once only a thought, an idea, and nothing more.
       Randles, in later pages, explores more historical cases of alien abductions, including cases that involve people such as Budd Hopkins and Alan Godfrey - as well as a tall bearded man called Yosef who abducts Godfrey. This chapter was also good because organisations of which I'd vaguely heard, were mentioned in passing, like BUFORA. It also mentioned an interesting case about how one man found 'a white hair coiled around his penis causing great pain.' DNA tests discovered that this hair was from one of the 'rarest genetic profiles on Earth'. Filled with enthusiasm for more on aliens and abductions, I read on into the next chapter, An Alien World. 
      This chapter was also intriguing. However, since I live in the UK, I was mainly interested in cases that occurred in my home country, and perhaps cases that occurred in Europe too. But I dedicated myself to reading the entire book and read the abduction stories from the other countries too. It was interesting and somewhat surprising to discover that each country had a contrasting number in how many abduction stories were known to exist. Randles also includes in a box next to the country, how many alien contacts occurred and what type of alien was most dominant within that country. From a sociological perspective, these were interesting, as they suggested a strong link between where Western media was in existence or accessible (places such as the UK and USA) and a greater number of alien abductions. This wasn't too surprising, especially if one considers the reality of 'hyper-reality' as mentioned earlier. On page 81 is a large picture of an uncanny-looking alien which illustrates what the alien looked like when the witness saw it. What Randles notes extensively is how alien abductees often have a very vivid dream-life, are creative and usually artisitc. These are traits which are also found in psi-conducive individuals in ESP experiments. But whilst this may mean, as Randles says, that these individuals have essentially well-developed, active imaginations which therefore can easily visualise aliens and alien spacecraft, I discussed this with a spiritual friend, who argued that perhaps being imaginative and creative makes one more open to having experiences with "aliens", even if this occurs on another dimension of reality. It's a moot point, in my opinion. I'm certain there is more to reality than we realise, but whether or not different dimensions exist (i.e. parallel dimensions in which, perhaps, our "past lives" may actually be "current lives"which are simply happening on a separate dimension and where we may meet "aliens" which are in fact beings that exist on dimensions that co-exist with our own, 3rd dimensional one) is something which one either believes or not believes. Whether one is open to the possibility is a matter that rests on how open their mind is to it.
    Perhaps the only disappointment with this chapter is that the photographs of extraordinary-sounding phenomena, like strange lights in the sky, do not do the phenomena justice. The artwork done by the witnesses are better, in my opinion, at truly demonstrating what the UFOs and aliens looked like. On page 104, I was astonished to discover that the previous owner had left a WHSmith receipt - not something that happens too often. I suppose it made a handy bookmark at the time.
     The next chapter was all about aliens - a picture was supplemented with a description of what they looked like, their typical behaviour during abductions or contact experiences, as well as what a typical case is that involves them, with a quick examination of 'physical evidence'. A handy list of the percentage of cases that included each of these aliens through the centuries proved to be interesting. It was good to be able to see for myself how the number of sightings changed through the years, as well as which aliens were seen more often than the others. However, I was unhappy with the picture of the Nordic, because her eyes look like they are slits, which I know they shouldn't be when it comes to descriptions of this type of alien by contactees. At the end of this chapter, a quick look at the films which involve UFOs, aliens and/or abductions is taken and once again, these are listed with the corresponding years.
       Then I was onto the next chapter, which was concerned with the possible explanations. From misperception, hallucinations, false memory syndromem altered states and sleep paralysis, this chapter made good reading too. I was familiar with all of these, but it was nice to read about them in a way that was less about spiritual phenomena like mediumship and "psychic" experiences, and instead in a manner that was more about UFOs, aliens and abductions. I especially enjoyed the bits concerning sleep paralysis, ASCs, and temporal lobe epilepsy due to my interest in those sorts of areas. Randles also explores the less mundane explanations like the possibility that the aliens seen are simply of our own kind that have time travelled from the future. I was pleased that the plasma and 'eath lights' phenomena were mentioned, but was puzzled when a UFOlogist by the name of 'Andy Collins' was mentioned - was this the Andrew Collins who had authored Light Quest'? Once again, this was an exciting chapter to read - it seemed to me that the possibilities for what the aliens seen might be were endless. Yet I was disappointed that the parallel dimensions idea was not included. On the bright side, however, at the end of this chapter was a list of 'alien hunters', about whom I could read, which was a welcomed opportunity to come back to earth once more. To read about people, rather than aliens and alien encounters.
     So, in conclusion, a good read. It has kindled my interest in UFOs and aliens. Before I began reading Randles' book, it was a small flame that was flickering. Now, at the end, it's a massive, fall-blown fire. I want to read more about aliens, abductions and UFOs! A must-read for those interested in anything to do with aliens, abductions, UFOs or simply interested in the weird, the wacky and the wonderful.
    

Monthly Book Review (March): Divine Intervention by Hazel Courtney

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review Divine Intervention by Hazel Courtney.

Divine Intervention by Hazel Courtney

Hazel Courtney was the alternative health writer who had her own column in the Sunday Times. She would answer readers' questions regarding alternative health - such as what supplements to take for particular health conditions - until out of the blue, she began having a collection of most unusual experiences. This is what Divine Intervention is all about, and the reader is taken on a journey of the author's spiritual awakening...

In the first chapter, 'The Beginning', the reader is introduced to the author, and how the author could be receptive to the "psychic" energies. Hazel explains how she was inspired to take up a career involving writing, through the word 'write' "popping into" her head one day. This led to her subsequent decision to start writing articles in newspapers, which eventually led onto her having a comlumn in the Sunday Times in March 1994. She had a passion for writing about anything to do with alternative health from nutrition to the effects of pesticide residues in farmed foods, and even won the Health Journalist of the Year Award in June 1997.
    Although in the first chapter, Hazel appeared to have a relatively mundane, but interesting life, the reader learns that this is challenged by a sudden set of unexpected experiences in the second chapter, The Madness. I personally was thirsty to find out the reason for the title, so I continued to read on, eager to start drinking in the more unusual details of the experiences that were to be related. Life as an alternative health writer was at this point still functioning, as indeed she relates how she moved her alternative health column from the Sunday Times to The Daily Mail. I didn't have very long to wait to find out that her life at this point in time - 8th April 1998  - was going to become strange rather dramatically. I got comfortable and continued reading - ready for the ride that was to come.
      Hazel has a rather uncanny experience whilst out shopping in London, and feels "stuck" and "cannot move". This is obviously quite an unexpected experience when you are in a shop, and yet it became weirder, as a "searing pain shot down through my head and into the centre of my chest" , which was as if she'd been "struck" with a long blunt hammer and made her gasp. She, not surprisingly, began to panic, and noticed when she glimpsed her reflection in a mirror that she "looked grey".
Although something most profound had clearly happened, when Hazel went to her GP to be examined, she got the all-clear - her heartbeat was normal, perhaps she'd just had a nervous breakdown due to stress. Despite the immense shock that she experienced as a result, she felt strangely calm. The situation became even more bizarre, because she also saw that her eyes looked bigger in the mirror - "bigger, rounder and bluer".
    Whilst resting in bed, her impulse was to phone a friend, yet her hand seemed to have other ideas - as if she was possessed by an entity that was not allowing her to use the phone! Then she began to have strange thoughts, that involved her "knowing" new things - complemented by a little voice that told her "listen to the silence". As the reader, all these strange events seemed like they might be suggesting that something much more profound and eyebrow-raising was to come. I felt like I was a fish caught on a fishing pole - I was, quite literally, hooked to reading more, as the events were becoming more and more intriguing. She seemed to "know" the answers to the most profound questions, such as "Do we have a destiny?", although I couldn't help wondering if these "answers" were the result of prior knowledge that she'd gained from background reading in spiritual matters - and that the experience of such answers presenting themselves now was due to cryptomnesia. I gently put my scepticism to one side and read on.
    The author then describes seeing a white mist fill the room, and the experience of her body floating - a rather wonderful out-of-body experience, which felt "blissful". For some inexplicable reason, she greets her husband with explaining her earlier experience whilst out shopping, and that she felt "different" and "like a super being", explaining the various psychic abilities that she could now achieve. She also, later that day, feels like she has a fever, with the earlier discomfort returning to her head and chest. Several days later, her appetite changed - although she forces herself to eat some food, she doesn't feel hungry. Speaking on the phone only seemed to hinder the strange feelings she was experiencing.
     The author consults friends about what to do - and uses various techniques to try and "ground" herself, with everything from sugar to Rescue Remedy (a combination of Bach flower remedies that is believed to be ideal for dealing with sudden trauma and shock). She continued to feel unwell, and even told a spiritual friend to look into her eyes in order to "know" who she was. Another friend comes over to check that the cause of all the unusual experiences is not possession by an evil spirit, and quickly her appearance became unkempt. After being told by the "voice" to 'Wait until the death', the apparent climax seemed to approach, after Hazel has a peculiar taste in her mouth, being soaked in sweat, amongst other unusual sensations. She felt as if she was in a coffin that was in a car which was  being driven very fast. Inside her head, she screamed, 'Help me' multiple times, and it was then that she realised whose eyes it was that she was seeing through - Princess Diana.
       In The Death, chapter 3, the author describes the various resulting feelings that were felt by millions of people when the death of Princess Diana was featured at length in the news.  Hazel expresses her opinion regarding who Diana was in a fair, balanced way, and she describes her meeting in October 1997 with Queen Noor. It is at this point that Hazel identifies the "voice" in her head as that of Diana's, and this gives her many different - and often spiritual - insights into what really happened to Diana on the fateful day of 31st August 1997. She expresses the anger of Princess Diana's death, yet whilst she types up her thoughts about it all for the newspaper, she hears Diana's voice saying, 'They have crucified me - I hope they are satisfied' which is supplemented with an image of her on a cross. The various insights given by this "voice" that are included in this chapter, as well as following ones, make for interesting reading, although they all seem similar in some respects to the nature of other "channelled" messages (not quite referring to the sort given by professional mediums however). Hazel's experience of channelling Diana's energy causes her to experience huge surges of emotion and unexpected times of re-energising. The chapter is coupled with reflections of past experiences, such as meeting a grieving mother, and situations involving family members, but these merely add some background to the telling of the story. Diana gives personal information regarding her true feelings about what had happened to her when she'd died, her reflections now regarding the situation, as well as her feelings about Dodi, Prince Charles and their two sons. Not many books with channelled writing that I have previously read add such a personal, human element to their messages.
     As I approached the middle of the book, I noticed (to my immense delight) that there was a collection of various pictures of people, including Princess Diana and, towards the end, of Serena Roney-Dougal. Not surprisingly, Hazel is seeking more answers for her unusual experiences that seem to be linked with channelling Princess Diana. Amongst the individuals consulted in Serena Roney-Dougal who offers her insight and knowledge of spiritual and shamanic experiences to answer Hazel's barrage of questions. These I found rather deep but also intriguingly interesting.
        It would make this review too long to say any more. Without a doubt, the messages Hazel received from Diana were rather inspirational, as she called for the need to change our thoughts into more positive ones in order to help the planet, and they related how she felt about the media constantly intruding on her life and her true feelings about her situation with Prince Charles. Whether or not Hazel was really channelling Diana's spirit, I found the book both interesting and compelling. For those familiar with Serena Roney-Dougal, and those interested in mediumship or simply having a good read, this book is certainly recommended - and for those whose appetite has merely been whetted.

Monthly Book Review (February): Where Science and Magic Meet by Serena Roney-Dougal

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review Where Science and Magic Meet by Serena Roney-Dougal.
 
I've heard of Serena Roney-Dougal - more due to my reading of parapsychology, than anything else. I read up on her background and decided to buy one of her books - Where Science and Magic Meet - as it sounded intriguing. I hoped that it would help me with the dissertation that I am currently working on for school, which is about the explanations for "paranormal" experiences - an excuse to take a closer look at how geomagnetic field fluctuations can cause a person to have a haunting experience; how stimulation of the left and right angular gyrus can cause a person to have a sense of presence or out-of-body experience, and, of course, a chance to read up on psi and how it may be responsible for ESP (hoping to raise a few eyebrows in doing so!).
    If you have any suggestions for books (as long as they aren't too pricey) or freely-available material that is relevant for how geomagnetic fields, quantum physics, psi/parapsychology, electromagnetic fields, and psychology can explain paranormal experiences, I would love to hear from you. I already have some key titles and papers, but any suggestions of ones I haven't come across would be welcome. I can be emailed at woodelf2012@gmail.com.

Where Science and Magic Meet by Serena Roney-Dougal

One of the things that struck me as soon as I began to read the introduction was that the author's style appeared to be relaxed and laid back -  and that the book appeared to be a good choice for breakfast! I was intrigued to discover more about psi - that it was the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet, and that it appeared in the Norse alphabet representing psychic protection. I read on, eager to find out about the author's own research (something which she promised me that she'd include in the introduction). I was pleased to discover that the book started right at the beginning - outlining what ESP and PK were, as well as mentioning JB Rhine's experiments. Because I was already familiar with all of this, I was more glad when Roney-Dougal put each of these under the terms of 'receptive psi' and 'active psi' - as I usually forget that PK is an example of 'active psi'. Then again, I'm more familiar with labelling PK as 'expressive psi'. So although I was familiar with all of this, I hoped that as I progressed through the book, I would read about stuff with which I wasn't already familiar.
     Roney-Dougal also includes the ideas of quantum physics - one being that a particle can obtain information about another article over any distance. This was great - perhaps I would gain a new insight about psi ability and quantum physics that I didn't know. I only hoped that I wouldn't mix the ideas from this book with another book, The Field by Lynne McTaggart!
    As I sluggishly moved off Chapter 1 and onto Chapter 2, I realised that I'd underestimated the extent to which parapsychology would be tied into magic. I'm not someone who's got a background is magic and mysticism, so I wasn't entirely sure what the author meant by magic, as it was not given a precise definition at the start. Still, the first chapter gave me a good flavour of what the whole book would be about (more-or-less) which was good.
    I enjoyed reading Chapter 2, because it was focussed on parapsychology, with which I was more familiar. It was good to read about the key figures with whom I was familiar: Marilyn Schlitz, Rex Stanford, Charles Honorton, amongst others. This chapter I found especially thought-provoking, primarily due to the author's open-minded approach to possible applications to real-life situations, as well as interesting studies about which I hadn't come across so much. It was also particularly interesting because of learning about the various conditions that seem necessary for successful PK experiments - for example, factors such as a more informal relationship between experimenter and the participants, a more relaxed attitude that is focused on the goal (such as particular lights coming on in a specific direction), and a decrease in responsibility for a PK effect to happen on the part of participants. In some ways, this chapter concreted my prior parapsychological knowledge, whilst in other ways, adding to it. It seemed to me as if my knowledge of parapsychology was like a cake, and that Roney-Dougal's perspective added more of a flavour to that cake. Undoubtedly, my perspective has been helped - and made more flexible - thanks to Roney-Dougal.
     The next few chapters I was looking forward to - their titles sounded intriguing and I was impatient about finally reading them. I wanted to read about quantum physics and wondered what new insights the author might offer me with it.
   The following chapter certainly did not disappoint: all about the strange world of the quantum, it refreshed my memory concerning Shrodinger's cat metaphor that is often used to illustrate the 'collapse of the wave function' which occurs once the particles/waves are observed. It was also good to be informed of the complete logic behind the metaphor. In fact, I found the whole chapter on the quantum so intriguing - from Carl Jung's sychronicity, Heisenburg's Uncertainty Principle and Schrodinger's Cat Paradox to The Principle of Non-Locality and Bell's Theorem that I immediately placed the book down and went on a search in another bookcase for some books about these specific areas for future reading. Most importantly, the chapter did indeed deliver new insights concerning the application of this new-found knowledge, and I subsequently thought about all the possibilities for how I could make my life smoother. I'm not sure if my focusing on the ideal outcome that I want to happen would improve my Biology grades - perhaps this observer effect could only occur on things that were flexible and random, such as an RNG (in the case of PK). I wondered whether one could improve one's health in the same way, just through focusing on the outcome - something which for me had an uncanny "New Age" feel, as I'd heard it so often in such circles, but hardly from a scientific perspective.
   When Roney-Dougal mentioned a piece of research by Pribram on memory and how it could work according to holographic principles, I was a little taken aback. After all, who said that memory was stored in the brain? No one. In my opinion, memories are stored in the A-field or morphic field, and are extracted when needed by us through certain parts of the brain. Those who have parts of the brain missing that are responsible for extracting particular types of memory have not lost those types of memories but just the ways in which they can obtain them. Pribram is quoted, on the other hand, as interpreting that in a different way: even though parts of the brain in some people after operations are missing, the memories stored "in" those parts are not lost. But this raises many questions: where are memories stored? Pribram seems to suggest that it is in the brain, but this then raises another question: what are memories? My theory at least sees memories as some type of energy imprinted on the zero-point field of quantum physics. In order for memories to be stored in the physical brain, they must have some sort of substance. Exactly how the "memories stored in the brain idea" may be investigated experimentally when no one knows what form memories may take when stored in the brain is not clear. There may be an aspect of holographic brain involved, but this does not mean that memories are stored in the brain. Rather, it raises more questions and, hopefully, more possible answers. I did, however, find it interesting to think of the brain as a hologram, and how each part of it contains information about the whole body - and in doing so, I thought of reflexology. After all, if each part of the brain is a hologram of the whole, could a part of my foot be a holographic representative of my eyes, amongst other organs? But if all of the cells of one's body are holograms of the whole body, why should it matter to rub one particular part of the foot in order to enhance the health of one particular organ? Surely every part of the foot represents every organ, with no particular part being specifically representative of a certain organ? I shoved my questions to one side and continued to read.
The remainder of the chapters also proved to be somewhat interesting for me. As someone who has mixed with New Agers and spiritualists, the pineal gland as the centre for psychic abilities - as well as its chakra, the Third Eye or Brow Chakra - was all too familiar a concept. I already knew all about it and so a lot of what Roney-Dougal said about it didn't quite take my interest so much. I was more interested in experiments concerning it than anything else. The areas that concerned psi, serotonnin and melatonnin I found the most interesting. And although I love the concept of elemental spirits - especially wood Elves -  I wasn't so into the concept of fairies, either.  Elementals just weren't an area that held much interest for me. The last two chapters again covered material that wasn't of so much interest, but once again these were tied in with psi and parapsychology. I think that what really made the most interesting reading were the areas concerning parapsychology and quantum mechanics, because they were areas that I was rather taken by and I obtained some good, interesting material to quote for my dissertation - so well worth reading! For those who are also interested in quantum mechanics/physics, I would advise that you read Lynne McTaggart's The Field  first, before you undertake reading this book. Some areas seemed rather too deep, but The Field helped set the necessary foundations on which an understanding of the quantum world could be constructed. 
   
Look out for next month's book review!

Book Review (January): One Foot in the Stars by Matthew Manning

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review One Foot in the Stars by Matthew Manning.

Not knowing much about Matthew Manning (besides him becoming a healer after experiencing poltergeist activity in his home when he was younger), I didn't know what to expect. But with each page that I read (and once again, I was excited about reading a new book by a previously unknown author), I quickly warmed to the author's style. I had difficulty stopping myself from comparing the details of the poltergeist activity that the author endured when he was eleven years old (which he described in the book) with the details that I had previously read about another poltergeist case that took place in Enfield, as described by Guy Lyon Playfair, who was one of the investigators of the case and whose book This House Is Haunted describes the phenomena that took place there.
   But the similarities and differences between both books seemed obvious to me: One Foot in the Stars was, like Playfair's book, in a biographical format. Yet unlike This House Is Haunted, Matthew Manning's book is an account of his own experience as the poltergeist agent, since the activity seemed to be centred around him in particular and this fact was supported by Geroge Owen - who Matthew's father contacted for help - as well as the obvious stress Matthew must have felt when he had a school exam to prepare for. Not forgetting, of course, that Matthew was also going to a new school and would be away from home for the first time. That coupled with the somewhat stifled atmosphere around his home - with the expression of affection and creativity being non-existent.
  Another similarity that I found between the two books was the extraordinariness of some of the phenomena, as well as the poltergeist writing unnerving messages. For example, when Matthew left a piece of paper and a pen in a room before later going in again, he discovered that the poltergeist had written 'Matthew Beware' with the Zodiac sign of Leo, which was his birth sign. This was complemented with doodlings on the piece of paper. In comparison, the poltergeist in This House Is Haunted wrote the word 'shit' in that very substance that evidently was bewildering and disturbing to the family that experienced it. Furthermore, like the Enfield poltergeist, the poltergeist that was in Matthew's home also had its times of helpfulness: his younger sister, Rosalind, once couldn't find the rubber whilst she was sketching on the sofa. The poltergeist lifted the rubber up from behind the sofa, placing it next to her. Both Matthew and Rosalind watched this happen. Another similarity between the two accounts is that the phenomena primarily happened when no one else was in the room.
   Similarities and differences aside, Matthew's book provided a fascinating insight into his life - both the unusual experiences he was subject to, as well as the more mundane, even usual aspects. One of the areas that I found most interesting was his account of being an author at eighteen, and how the thrill and excitement (as well as, later, the stress that he endured) at travelling around the world in order to publicise his book, The Link, affected him - not forgetting, of course, the various criticisms he received from the American media whilst he was in the USA.
  In the book, he also describes some of the television appearances that he made, primarily due to the efforts and contacts of his manager, Peter Bander, as well as some of the experiments he took part in, in which the objective for him was to either channel, from a deceased personality called Thomas Penn, correct information concerning the health issues of an anonymous, unknown individual, or to bend or influence solid objects using his psychic powers in a demonstration of psychokinesis. Although Matthew does give a fair amount of detail to these, having a personal interest in all things PK, I would have liked to read a whole lot more about these experiments that he took part in (he did give a sufficient amount of detail to tickle my interest, though!). Probably my favourite aspect of these experiments, however, was one case in which he was demonstrating his automatic writing ability to Dr Hans Bender. He was given a birth date and name, as usual, and was asked to sketch a piece of artwork from the deceased artist, with whom he was unfamiliar, but who, he was told, was a woman. The drawing that Matthew produced was "a face of inexpressible sadness with a black heart set in its forehead, drooping eyes and down-turned mouth. Tears ran down its left cheek. On its otherwise bald head were two single hairs. Above these I had written the words 'Harliquin out of love'..."with the word harlequin misspelt. This test, amongst the others arranged by experimenter Hans Bender were filmed, and at this point the experimenter demanded that the filming be stopped. He admitted then to Matthew that the pseudonym he had given him was that of his daughter, who was still coming to terms with the breakdown of her marriage, and who was still having an emotional upheaval with coming to terms with it. He further explained that she had, that morning, described her feelings and '...used the word 'harlequin' to characterise them.' In her world, according to Hans Bender, the emotions of love and hate had "collided" with her.
More was revealed when Hans Bender took Matthew to his house to meet her: his daughter looked like a precise replica of the picture Matthew had drawn; his daughter was in a harlequin costume, with her head shaven, a mix of "sheer terror and intense hatred" on her face.
   Matthew also describes the experiments that had a more practical basis, which he took part in after a personal spiritual "awakening" whilst he was in the Himalayas. This experience was a realisation concerning what next he should do, and was the reason why he changed his approach to experiments. I love the idea of DMILS - Direct Mental Influence on Living Systems - because of all the possible applications it could have. So I was thrilled when Matthew described giving this type of experiment a go.
   One of the great things about the book is that we get to meet some key names of parapsychology - like Charles Tart and Stanley Krippner. The experiments conducted by these researchers were also very interesting, as they involved ESP. But I'll leave the details about those for you to find out, if you read the book.
  There are so many intriguing aspects of Matthew's book, I found it difficult to pick which ones I liked best. As someone also interested in mediumship, I was delighted when there were elements of that inside the book - there was everything from going back into time, to talking to dead people who spoke non-standard English (who appeared to be unaware that they were dead), and who passed onto Matthew their mundane messages or worries, to the deceased man who insisted that he was still the resident of Matthew's parents' house, and who got 503 signatures written by different dead people,etched onto part of Matthew's bedroom wall (which were subsequently checked for authenticity) to Thoman Penn's diagnoses of people's illnesses.
   I could go on and on about what I liked most about in the book and what I enjoyed the most.  Undoubtedly, Matthew's book is like no other. There are plenty of interesting, unexpected twists and turns to it, yet at the same time a sense of seriousness. The book provides a rare insight into what it was like to be an agent for poltergeist activity, which proved intriguing reading.The style contrasts with that of other paranormal biographies, because it provides more of an insight into the author's life, without too many (if any at all) of their personal opinions, which for me was like taking a breath of fresh air. It almost felt like I was seeing things through Matthew's eyes. I would certainly like to get hold of The Link - perhaps more to get a better feel for what it was like to have all of his unusual experiences -but through the eyes of a teenager. One Foot in the Stars is definitely a must-read for anyone who is interested in poltergeist phenomena, psychokinesis, extra-sensory perception, mediumship, or the paranormal in general.

Look out for next month's book review!

References

This House Is Haunted - Playfair, G. L. (2011). USA/UK: White Crow Books.
One Foot in the Stars - Manning, M. (2003) London: Judy Piatkus (Publishers) Limited.