Monthly Archives: May 2009

Psychic Detectives Debunked? A Critical Look at Psychic Detectives and Criminal Investigations

Posted by admin on May 31, 2009

Are psychic detectives all a big bunch of fakes, fugazis and frauds?  Many in the skeptical community certainly think so…..and will often go out of their way to point out discrepancies in many of the “boasts” made by celebrity psychics popularized on TV and elsewhere. 

Here is a REALLY critical look at some popular psychics by the Sketical Inquirer, a well known repository of folks who believe ALL paranormal perusings are the hobgoblins of super small minds..:-)  While I’m not a big fan of the folks behind a lot of this pyschic bashing, some of their targets I DO believe are fakes, and are not good for the betterment of genuine psychic study.

Check out the full article after the jump below….but if you are a harcore believer in some of the “targets” of their investigation, be warned – you will NOT be happy with what you read!

Allison DuBois

Allison DuBois is the “real-life” Phoenix-area clairvoyant / spiritualist whose alleged assistance to law enforcement is the basis for NBC’s drama series Medium (featuring Patricia Arquette as DuBois). Executive producer Glen Gordon Caron (creator of Moonlighting) says of DuBois: “I was amazed by her tale. She has this radio in her head that she has no control over. Wherever she looked, she saw dead people.

It was a tremendous albatross in terms of having a family life. And I thought, ‘I’ve never heard that story before, certainly not from the point of view of a soccer mom’” (Hiltbrand 2005).But Caron has been snookered. The Medium Web site boasts that “DuBois has consulted on a variety of murders or missing persons cases while working with various law enforcement agencies including the Glendale Arizona Police Department, the Texas Rangers, and a County Attorney’s office in the Homicide Bureau.”

 In fact, however, both the Glendale police and the Texas Rangers deny DuBois worked with them. Glendale police spokesperson Michael Pena told SI managing editor Benjamin Radford that the detective who investigates missing persons cases “does not recall using DuBois at all in [one specific] case, or in any other cases.” And Texas Rangers spokesperson Tom Vinger stated flatly to Radford, “The Texas Rangers have not worked with Allison DuBois or any other psychics” (Radford 2005, 7).

The Case of the ‘Psychic Detectives’; Investigative Files (Skeptical Inquirer August 2005)

Astral Projection Studies – More Tips, Tricks and Otherworldy Advice for Having Your First OBE

Posted by admin on May 30, 2009

Here is an interesting series of blog posts and articles on astral projection studies, techniques and just simple tricks and tweaks that are proven to help newbies have their first out of body experience.

Some of the astral projection advice that is referenced here comes from some pretty powerful names in the OBE world – including Scott Rogo ( a long time investigator of paranomal phenomena and a well respected writer and researcher of the occult) as well as, of course, Robert Monroe, whose Monroe Center remains today one of the most well known institutes for spiritual study – specifically into altered states of conciousness.  ( which is pretty much why WE’RE all here reading this stuff to learn, right..;-)?

One of the chief barriers people learning to project face is fear. Many are afraid that they may die, or be harmed in some way as a result of their projection. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The Cantebury Institute, reknowned for its occult studies, executed an experiment in projection involving over 2,000 people. None of them were hurt in any way by this, and now, three years later, none have complained of any newly arising problems.

There are some pretty good OBE tips here too – so check out the full post at the link below the jump….I hate the “black” backrground blogs cause they’re TOUGH to read…..but other than that one little minor quible, there is some great stuff to check out here for sure!

Once you are aware that you cannot be harmed by projecting, you should begin monroe’s techniques, step by step.Step one:Relax the body. According to Monroe, “the ability to relax is the first prerequisite, perhaps even the first step itself” to having an OBE. (out of body experience) This includes bothe physical and mental relaxation. Monroe does not suggest a method of attaining this relaxation, although Progressive Muscle relaxation, coupled with deep breathing exercises (inhale 1, exhale 2, inhale 3…. until 50 or 100) are known to work well.Step two:Enter the state bordering sleep. This is known as the hypnagogic state. Once again, Monroe doesn’t recommend any method of doing this.

One way is to hold your forearm up, while keeping your upper arm on the bed, or ground. As you start to fall asleep, your arm will fall, and you will awaken again. With practice, you can learn to control the Hypnagogic state without using your arm. Another method is to concentrate on an object. When other images start to enter your thoughts, you have entered the Hypnagogic state. Passively watch these images. This will also help you maintain this state of near-sleep. Monroe calls this Condition A.

Techniques for Astral Projection

Paranormal Research Classes: Can You Learn to Be a Ghost Hunter?

Posted by admin on May 27, 2009

An interesting question that we hear a lot ( and have asked ourselves on more than one occasion) is whether or not you can go to school to study the paranormal.  Can you get a DEGREE in psychic phenomena, ghost hunting, near death experiences and the like?  The answer, is…unfortunately, there are VERY few schools that actually teach this stuff in a standardized way, making careers in the paranormal a bit hard to come by. 

But there are a few ( overseas in the U.K – and the Rhine institute to name a few) but Loyd Auerbach’s classes and school affiliation look especially interesting to me.  Check out the whole deal at the link below.  ( I’m not sure if they are still in “session” either, so you may have to check if you want to apply!)

The Search for Life After Death: 9 hours Cost: $ $150Do we survive the death of our bodies? Is there Life after Death? What is the evidence?This seminar will cover the search for evidence of Survival of Bodily Death from the earliest psychical researchers to parapsychologists of today. With an eye towards the evidence garnered and the research and investigations methods to gather it — the class covers topics such as ghosts, mediumship, near death experiences, electronic voice phenomena, out of body experiences, reincarnation and psychic experience says about whether we live on in some fashion after the deaths of our bodies.

Some time will also be spent discussing the recent research of Gary Schwartz, working with psychic mediums at the University of Arizona and the work of the Division of Personality Studies at the University of Virginia in Reincarnation and Apparition research. The importance of ESP and PK in any model of Survival will be discussed. The class will also look at the debate regarding evidence for Survival vs. the Super-Psi hypothesis from the perspective of the Survival proponents.

 Theories and Models of Psychic Experience: 6 hours Cost: $100This short course covers basic models of how psychic abilities seem to work, what apparitions and hauntings are, and a survey of theories that might (or might not) explain it all.

Colleagues

Real Psychic Studies, Debunking the Skeptics and Searching for Truth

Posted by admin on May 25, 2009

Here is another interesting site on real psychic studies, examining TRUE paranormal phenomena and searching for truth in a dimly lit landscape of half lit hopes that our souls truly ARE eternal…:-)

 Sound heavy? 

It shouldn’t be….here you are going to find MORE smart stuff on psychic phenomena, near death studies and out of body phenomena that you can read in one sitting, along with some cool and up to date multi media presentations to boot.

Check out the full site at the link below the jump….and enjoy!

Welcome to SCEPCOP – The Scientific Committee Exposing Pseudo-Skeptical Cynicism of the ParanormalSCEPCOP is the world’s first organized counter-skeptic group. Back in 2001, I was the first to write a book length treatise debunking 30 primary arguments of pseudo-skeptics against the paranormal and anything that challenged orthodoxy.

Much needed at the time, it quickly became hailed in paranormal circles as a comprehensive masterpiece and the first of its kind. And now, as a protest to CSICOP, I’ve formed SCEPCOP. After all, if the pseudo-skeptics can form organized groups to attack the paranormalists, why can’t we form an organized group to attack them too? They are not infallible, but in fact rifled with obvious fallacies and twisted ways of thinking that make no sense.

Thus it’s justly due that they are exposed.The Paranormal is one of the most exciting frontiers today. Research into Consciousness, Quantum Physics and Psychic Phenomena, etc. explores venues that may unlock the mysteries of the universe and gateways to other dimensions or levels of reality and consciousness. This provides deeper insights into the larger picture of reality, meaning for our existence and hope for a better future in which humanity’s consciousness and awareness are elevated to new heights, transcending greed, lust for power, hatred, violence, ignorance, and the confines of the material paradigm in a competitive Darwinistic world.

SCEPCOP – Debunking Pseudo-Skeptics of the Paranormal (JREF, James Randi, Michael Shermer, CSICOP)

Real Psychic Powers: More Studies of Psychic Abilities, and Paranormal Powers in the Lab ( For Smarty Pants Types Only..:-)

Posted by admin on May 23, 2009

Who else wants more “smarty pants” psychic power facts and research?  Lots of the people who have been reading our stuff, and emailing and commenting below, have been asking for more “serious” psychic research to PROVE any of this is really real, right? 
Well….your wish is our continuous command!  here is another interesting article taken out of the archives, talking about some of the results achieved not only from the famed “Rhine” experiments, but also some of the follow up stuff as well.

The Pearce-Pratt Distance Series ESP TestsFrom 1933 through 1934, J.B. Rhine, an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Duke University, conducted a series of ESP tests concerning a Duke student, Hubert E. Pearce Jr., who had come forward and told J.B. Rhine that he believed he’d inherited his mother’s psychic abilities.

With the help of J.G. Pratt, a psychology graduate student acting as the assistant, J.B. Rhine ran a series of ESP card tests on Hubert Pearce. In the tests, Pratt was unaware of the card sequences, establishing what scientists call a “double-blind”, meaning that neither the test subject nor the scientist performing the experiment know the correct answers.J.B. Rhine ran a series of psychic power tests with various distances between the cards, held by Pratt, and the psychic, Pearce.

They conducted the first series at 100 yards apart, the second series at 250 yards, and then the final two series at 100 yards apart again. In 1936, J.B. Rhine published an article in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology outlining the results of his research.Results: The results of this early parapsychology research was nowhere near conclusive. However, the results were statistically shocking. The experiments totaled 1850 trials. A statistical calculation of the probability that a person could correctly guess the right card by chance is 20% – 370 correct hits out of the 1850 trials. Hubert Pearce consistently guessed 558 correct hits, a resulting 30% success rate that was 188 successful hits above the expected results from simple chance.

These results have been debated during the centuries since, and the significance of the statistical variation remains in question even today.[edit]Princeton ESP Psychic Tests in 2000Many years later, in 2000, the Journal of Scientific Exploration published a fascinating paper by Dr. Robert Jahn of Princeton University. The paper was titled Contributions to Variance in REG Experiments, and it outlined the results of a twelve-year study conducted by Dr. Jahn and three of his fellow researchers.This particular study was conducted from 1979 through 1991, running almost perfectly parallel to the government’s ongoing ESP research at the same time.

Psychic Power Tests – LoveToKnow Paranormal

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