Science or Spirituality?

One of our members posted the following question which grew out of a conversation we had earlier regarding scientific explanations versus spiritual explanations and how sometimes science was used to "prove" the paranormal.

Her posted question:

I believe that spirituality or spiritual phonema [sic] works in tandem with science. Some believe the answer must be either strictly scientifically proven or it is only explained as spiritual or paranormal phenomena.

I will explain my theory later in this thread.

What is your theory?"

My response:

Well, I look at it this way (take a deep breath and get some coffee):

We find something unusual that happens. First, we look to science for a reasonable and rational explanation. If that cannot be found then we must look to the "paranormal" answer or rather we must class it as something that is unexplained through ordinary means.

That does not rule out that the "spiritual" or "paranormal" explanation may not one day, with time and effort, be explained through science. For this reason I consider "spirituality" a stop along the road to fuller understanding.

The two are not mutually exclusive. Some of the most intense "intent" I have ever put forth has been during surgery when I knew the odds were stacked very much against my patient. More often than not, our combined efforts as a surgical team brought them through. But, can I say that there were not other forces there as well helping to guide each decision? Nope... and sometimes it felt like it too.

But, sometimes we are so unsure of a spiritual belief that we will grab a scientific theory even if it does not fit in order to "shore up" the argument that something is real.

This can be a simple misreading of complex data or it can be intentional in some cases, but a factual error does not add weight to an argument except for those who are not aware of the full data and cannot spot the error or inconsistency.

I suppose I approach things much too logically sometimes at least for others. Lots of people read something in an article in the newspaper and then start making assumptions and leaps... if such and such has been proven by science THEN such and such could (must) be true as well.

And of course "could" becomes "must" by the third email.

I think that there are many theories in current science that may inform spiritual belief. But informing a subject and proving a subject are vastly different things.

For example, we know that some researchers suggested several years ago that particles seemed to be affected by the "expectations" of the researchers. This little tidbit was immediately hailed as "proof" of everything from "The Secret" to prayer. Unfortunately, there is no direct link. Sure, it might INFORM the latter and give us some interesting places to research in the future as we know more, but it does not PROVE those things.

And here's where I get stumped. I meet people frequently who want me to go along with them on these assumptions. When I say that I won't make the leap with them then I get the question - well, it's possible, won't you admit that? Well, it's possible. It's also possible the sun might start circling the Earth I suppose. But the smart money isn't on it. However, when people say this they are not admitting that it really is only a possibility but trying to get you to validate their logical error by another means.

So, to sum up this incredibly long composition -

I look to science first, for what science has not been able to explain I look to spirituality or whatever you want to call it. BUT, I always hope that science will be able to provide that answer as well. After all, science and spirituality ultimately seek the same answers:

Who are we?
Why are we here?
Where do we go from here?

Finis...

---

Now, let me further state that I saw a post on Unexplained Mysteries this morning that helps make my point. Someone ran a story stating that scientists don't know what they're talking about because they won't say definitively that metaphysics and the paranormal exist. As "proof" of that argument this person pulled out the exact example I quote above dealing with particle physics. You could almost see him doing a little dance and sticking his tongue out as he stated that this was "proof" that scientists' own theories showed metaphysicians were right all along.

But does it prove that? No, it indicates that within certain narrowly defined experiments the outcomes were statistically anomalous. It does not "prove" that some magical force is at work whether you want to call it "dark energy", "attraction", or "Zeke". What it does tell us is here is something unusual that happened and this will be an interesting area of study.

The people who make these huge leaps and assumptions are the same people who would find this logic almost unassailable:

All cats are animals. Bob is an animal. Therefore, Bob must be a cat.

And there you have it.

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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Listen to Parazona Now!

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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Parazona Launches Tonight!

Tonight marks the inaugural show for Parazona Blog Radio, a project I've been working on with David Delgado, Paul Bradford, Kale Kelly and my other SPI cohorts, Sandy Senecal, her husband, Jeff, Brian Cowley and Michael.

Tonight's show begins at 8pm MST (11pm ET). The guest will be Dawn Foster a psychic/medium from North Central Arizona who has worked with SPI in the past and recently rejoined the group as a business manager. While Dawn is a sensitive she is very dedicated to the scientific process and interested in fully documenting not only paranormal phenomena but her own gifts as well. Beyond her special abilities, Dawn is a fascinating person, a great conversationalist, and a wonderful wit. Her interview is sure to inform and bring a laugh or two as well. They will also be taking listener calls and questions as well.

The guys have been working very hard to get things ready to go, so please tune in at BlogTalkRadio for Parazona an exploration of the paranormal in all its many forms.

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Patronizing Saints

An interesting discussion has bloomed on the forums at Sonoran Paranormal. In response to an article on "orbs" there has been a flowering of posts concerning how to approach the subject with people who are solidly in the "orbs are the spirits of my dead relatives" camp.

Amazingly, many have espoused a policy of patronization. In other words, their preferred approach is to tell people we "think" the orb photo "may" be dust or whatever "but" we "don't have the technology to be sure it's not" the spirits of their dead relatives.

To say the least I was flabbergasted by this approach. Certainly, we know what the "orbs" are and anyone who still clings to the notion that they are spirits is deluding themselves and others (often for profit or to make friends).

Several people have said we should be "kind" and "let people hang onto their beliefs" for comfort. Well, that's all nice and cuddly. However, if they actually wanted someone to tell them that the piece of dust in their photo or one that we took was their dead husband, then they probably would have done better hiring one of the myriad psychics who will tell you what you want to hear - in exchange of course for a fee by cash, check, or credit card!


If someone asks a group that holds itself out as scientific for their analysis or findings, then we are bound by honor and honesty to give them those findings without omitting facts, softening facts, or subscribing to beliefs that we don't actually hold. If we, truly, believe we have reached the right conclusion it is dishonest to tell someone the opposite or to couch that conclusion in terms that make it seem uncertain.

After all, once you start down that slippery slope, where does it end? When you find a light that flickers because of frayed wires do you tell them "Well, we found this frayed wire that makes the light flicker every time it moves, but it still may be your ghost that is doing it because we don't want to take away your beliefs."? Or even worse, simply not tell them about the wire at all for fear they might have their beliefs dashed by our skepticism? Certainly, we wouldn't do that.

I have adopted a policy of asking people up front if they want my honest analysis of something or if they just want me to tell them what they want to hear. It saves me time dealing with people who have made up their minds and are just looking for someone to validate their beliefs whatever they might be.

It is possible to state an honest opinion or analysis without being cruel or arguing with people. You simply state your analysis and that's it. If they want to argue you simply tell them that it is your analysis and you stand behind it. Then you simply walk away. That's it.

Now, it's quite a different thing if someone is unaware of what you do and simply shows you their favorite "ghost photo" of dear departed Grandma's orb. They are not soliciting your opinion and there is no ethical obligation to them as your client to analyze the photo and give them a scientific conclusion. In cases like that, I see no harm in saying "Oh, how interesting" and letting the matter drop.

I have concerns that when we begin to patronize people in order to avoid any hint of unpleasantness after an investigation, then we begin to slide into the realm of twisting evidence to suit their desires, at that point, the question becomes: "Why do we do this?"

Let's hope that people realize that being honest with clients or those asking for an analysis is a much better policy in the long run than patronizing people and soothing them by half truths or lies of omission.

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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Vulture Mine

Discovered by Henry Wickenburg in 1863, Vulture was one of the richest gold mines yielding $15/ ton. By 1870 there were 200 inhabitants. Eventually, an 80 stamp mill was erected. Oddly enough, some of the original buildings were made from discarded ore from the mine and after the mill was in operation, these buildings were torn down and run through the mill resulting in about $2000 in gold from the assay office alone. Wickenburg died a pauper despite the fact that his mine produced millions in gold. He ended his own life with a colt revolver. Today Vulture City is a tourist attraction that doesn't have set hours.

It also has quite a few ghosts. In the caretaker's house people hear voices and strange noises. In the mess hall there are reports of the smell of baking biscuits. Some people have reported strange sensations along the various trails to the cemetery, mine and "hanging tree."

Vulture Mine remains one of the most popular sites for amateur and professional ghost hunters. SPI investigated it over a year ago and we probably will return for a "family ghost hunt" this autumn. That hunt will allow us to take family members along so they can see exactly what we do during all those late, late nights.

Vulture is worth a trip if you're in the area of Wickenburg, AZ (near Phoenix). I have heard that it has changed hands now and access may be limited in the future, but have no specifics. So check ahead of time if you're going to be sure.

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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New SPI Reports

Now that we've been able to work with the website directly, we've been able to update the report offerings at the SPI Website.

You will now find some of the more recent reports available in .pdf which include all the background history, diagrams and other factors. These are edited versions of the actual printed and bound reports that go to our clients upon completion of an investigation. Enjoy!

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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Dead Tired

The posts haven't been too frequent over the past week really. The reason for that are twofold. First, we've had a bit of drama in our group and second we had a major investigation this past weekend.

The drama stems from the fact that the woman who headed up our Central Division and her husband resigned from the group abruptly last week. It was not altogether unexpected as there had been some friction over the past few weeks because of the work my division has been doing which she seemed to threaten her for some reason.

I won't go into the gory details but suffice it to say she resigned and since she was our "webmaster" she decided that our previous website would go with her. Because of this and the fact that she was not amenable to allowing the group to take over the website where it stood we had to reconstitute it in days elsewhere. Since I was the only person around with experience doing that the task fell to me.

With the help of Paul, Sandy, and David I had the site up and running at our new domain: www.sonoranparanormalinvestigations.org in just under 48 hours. Of course, we're still doing a lot of background work so I'm drained from the effort.

We're hoping to be able to rescue the old domain name by paying her cash for it, but so far haven't heard anything definite. In the meantime the new site and forums are up at the new address and should we get the old one it will point there as well.

If you were a member of our forums before you'll need to re-register on the new site. There are kinks to be worked out but for the most part it's functioning normally.

On top of this and perhaps playing a part in the whole drama was the fact that we had the largest and most prestigious investigation in SPI history this weekend.

We were invited to the U.S. Army base at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, AZ. They had three sites they wanted us to look into for them. That meant taking the full SPI-South team and members from Central as well. We also had two guests from another group with us to round out the crew. That's all the details I can post here, needless to say this was quite an honor since one of the sites we did was a high level secured site within the base itself.

As you can imagine, I'm dead tired from all this. Hopefully, over the next days or weeks things will become normal again and I can get back into a routine. Bear with me in the meantime!

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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And Now for Something Completely Different...

Well, maybe not so different. For the past few weeks I've been working on a project with two of the founders of my group, David Delgado and Paul Bradford. It was one of those ideas that must be good because about four of us had it at the same time.

I was browsing around one night and looking at shows on BlogTalkRadio when suddenly I thought, "Why doesn't anyone in our group do this?" After all, we're pretty respected, especially SPI-South for our research and reports.


A few days later at an investigation we were talking about promotions and such so I brought up the idea of an Internet radio show. Paul had been thinking the same thing but wasn't sure what it might entail. Since I'd done the preliminaries I explained it was pretty simple and we should have no trouble putting it together.

David and Paul agreed to host, while I worked on the website. Sandy and I would also take turns as the "producer" which basically means we'd run the switchboard during the show. Michael would do the voice overs and compose some music for the opening and segment breaks. This past week they added Kale Kelly as a co-host. Kale is SPI-Central's Tech Manager.

We've scheduled the first show for Thursday, June 26 at 8pm MT (Arizona). That's 11pm ET because, well in Arizona we don't do the whole time changing stuff.

Please join us then for Parazona Radio! Segments will include EVP analysis, chat about current events in the paranormal world, research topics and the guys will also answer caller questions.

All content © Buck Bannister.
Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
All Rights Reserved.

Diversions

After a Sunday afternoon meeting the SPI-South team went bowling. After all, it can't all be work!

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
All Rights Reserved.

P.R.O.U.D. of the reality...

I don't usually steal shamelessly, but Ken had such a great post on his work, I decided, what the heck...

Well, it has been quite a few weeks since Buck and I discussed the idea of a networking site for GLBT paranormal investigators. I was feeling a little restless and inspired last night, so I started doing a little tinkering...

It's in the works, but it will take me a little while to get it all set up. I decided I might as well start the ball rolling, since it's the best way to see if there really is any widespread interest. For now, it's a rudimentary, incomplete social networking free site that I will keep private until it looks presentable. I have to start working on images and layout. I was too tired and it was getting too late to do much.

Hopefully within a few weeks, I'll be mentioning it on here more in-depth. Who knows where it could all lead...

It's now up and running so go check out P.R.O.U.D.!

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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Buck's EMF Experiment - Day 11 through 14

Well, the past few days have presented no new experiences with the EMF experiment. In fact, my only anxiety can be directly attributed to some other drama with people.

So, now we move on to phase II which is diminishing the field and recording any changes.

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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The Paranormal Trifecta!

Last night was part two of our re-investigation of the abandoned firehouse. It turned out to be another good night, although at first it looked as though we'd tapped out our spirit friends.

The first interesting thing that happened was not paranormal at all. One of the folks from the fire department decided to play a little joke on us. He slipped into the house as we were talking to their regular representative and decided to turn one of the trigger objects upside down.

Unfortunately, he didn't know he was being videotaped as well as caught on remote game cameras. I noticed he was missing and walked inside to find him coming up a hallway. I engaged him in conversation and answered his questions. Sure enough, after they'd left Paul discovered the trigger object upside down. A quick review turned up our fireman prankster. So we called to see if he'd own up to it. He was honest and admitted what he had done. He thought he was just goofing around and didn't mean it maliciously.
Most of the night was fairly uneventful. A few fleeting "corner of the eye" things that weren't too concrete. We were about to call it quits but decided to try another EVP session using the modified tri-field that is fitted out like a K2 with lights.

The room we gathered in didn't seem to be doing much for us. We got one or two odd blips but nothing that we could call concrete. I suggested that perhaps our friends couldn't leave their back bedrooms for some reason. After all, the activity seemed concentrated in those areas. Michael suggested that Paul take the trifield and sit in a chair at that end of the hall and we would all stay at the other end of the hall and film him as well as take photos and audio.

It wasn't long till we were getting responses. Our friend(s) seem very attracted to Michael's voice and responded consistently during the test. We asked a large number of questions and even came back to questions several times to see if the "answers" by way of lighting different lights repeated. They were 100% accurate each time. That's way above the statistical norm for random EMF spikes from natural causes. Interestingly, in most cases the same responses elicited the same light pattern indicating that perhaps the intensity of emotion was constant as well.

One very funny response was to the question, "Do you think Paul's voice is funny?" (Paul is our British Tech manager.) The response was a very strong "Yes" as we had worked out with the entity.

Interestingly, as long as we talked to the entity as though it were simply another person in the room we got responses. As soon as we began to ask questions like "How did you die?" or "What's the last thing you remember before you died?" the responses would cease until we renewed the questioning in a lighter vein.

We spent a long time with this particular experiment and thank goodness every second is on film. It will be most interesting to hear the audio review to hear if anything comes through there as well.

We finally had to stop this experiment because Paul began to feel overheated, extremely exhausted, and a bit faint. Interestingly, the temperature around him increased by about 5 degrees, whereas his shirt temperature and hands were cooler. When I rechecked his shirt and hands with the thermometer after we had stopped and he moved into the main room it actually increased almost 10 degrees. So although he was sweating and clammy in the hallway he was actually cooler there.Of course, not only did we get to experience these episodes but while we were outside just letting things settle we did a little star gazing. The skies in Arizona can't be beat for stars when you're out in the desert!

As we sat looking up, Paul and Michael noticed something odd almost immediately. There were three white lights that were not blinking. They seemed quite high and small, but were very far apart. When I first looked at them I thought it might be a constellation of some sort. However, as I watched they started moving in the same pattern from North to South. Finally, they veered Southeast and faded out quickly. As we watched we could see what looked like white lines glowing between them to form the large triangle. So, my first UFO? Maybe.

What a great night. Some incredible activity from what appears to be an intelligent haunt and a possible UFO. The only thing missing in the paranormal trifecta was a good cryptozoological creature sighting! Oh well, can't have everything!

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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Buck's EMF Experiment - Day 10

Since I had to do a talk at UA on organ donation and transplantation at 8:30 this morning I didn't have a chance to enjoy my EMF fan all that much last night! We got home from the investigation about 1:30 a.m. and I went straight to bed. However, I didn't sleep too well and was just getting comfortable when it was time to get up and get ready to go over to UA.

So, I can't actually put down the fact that I feel like a truck has run over me today to EMF. I think it has more to do with lack of sleep! In fact, I was trying to do part of the 7+ hours of audio review for this investigation and kept dozing off. Not a good thing if you're listening for EVP!

We're entering the home stretch now of the experiment, though.

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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Are You a Coincidence?

Last night we had a chance to re-investigate a house we'd done a few weeks back. At that time we got a few interesting EVP's, not to mention some great personal experiences.

Michael and I got to the site first, around 5:30 and the rest of the team arrived shortly thereafter. We had a chance for an impromptu meeting before starting.

Sandy and Nick investigate a room at the site where activity has been reported.

Sandy and I did the EMF sweeps and again found that the house with no power has a lot of EMF coming from switches, fuse boxes, and wiring. We're still not sure what to make of it and have requests in with different experts for their opinions. In fact the ground wire for the main box showed an EMF spike of 14.0 mG and fluctuated up and down.

The night went pretty well despite the fact that we ended up not having a generator so had to go with handheld cameras instead of the security IR cameras. Still, since we had a small team it worked out pretty well.

We again had some interesting personal experiences as well as hearing one or two things which were unexplained. The audio reviews should be interesting because of that.

We're back tonight for another look at the site and possibly one more night this week. Unfortunately, it seems to be one of the most consistently active we've done but is slated for demolition! This is sort of a last ditch attempt to capture any evidence before the structure comes down completely.

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Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
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EMF Experiment - Day 9

Last night we had an investigation so I didn't get in till later - after midnight. Actually, that was early for an investigation.

I finally got to bed around 1 a.m. and slept well. I awoke about 7:45 a.m. and although feel a bit tired, for the most part seem fine.

There were no memorable dreams last night. However, I am noticing that I keep feeling as though I need to be on guard against something happening. It's a rather strange feeling and seems to be associated with while not entirely irrational fears at least improbable fears.

For example, I keep feeling anxious that those I care about around me might be in some danger. Sometimes I'll be in the middle of something and just have this sort of anxious moment where I wonder if something is wrong with my liver (I am a transplant recipient.) I'll even wake up out of a sound sleep to use the bathroom and just be frightened that something is wrong with Michael.

I hadn't really taken too much note of them because, thanks to my mother, I am prone to being a "worrier". But, this seems to be edging at times from my normal "vigilance" that she instilled in me to a true anxiety although I can still rationalize the thoughts and calm myself.

Perhaps the EMF has an ability to intensify those psychological quirks we might already have?

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