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1) Absolutism, An Open Mind, &
Possibilities
An open mind is a very elusive thing in
the paranormal field. So many people blindly believe things that make
them closed minded to other possibilities. For example, here are some
things that have been "KNOWN", and blindly believed by the paranormal
field for a long time:
Ghosts are
spirits of the dead.
Spirits
drain your batteries.
EVP is a
recording of a spirit.
These are statements that are absolute, and leave no room for
conjecture or other possibilities.
It is the policy Beyond Paranormal Investigations to bring
possibilities BACK to the areas of the paranormal that others in the
field have removed then from.
Ghosts MAY
be spirits of the dead.
It's
POSSIBLE that spirits drain batteries, but we don't have significant
evidence.
EVP is a
recording of SOMETHING.
Do you see how the second versions of those sentences leave things open
with more to learn, while the originals force a closed conclusion?
Every member of Beyond Paranormal Investigations is STRONGLY encouraged
to forget everything they've learned, and keep their mind like a clean
slate ready to be filled with new information. It takes a bit of
reprogramming to change the way you think about these things, but an
open mind is the most valuable thing in this field, and there are so
few investigators that actually have one.
2) Ignorance Is Bliss
Reprogramming yourself to think with more
of an open-mind isn't too tough. Really, all it boils down to three
words. If you remember them, you'll be fine.
"I don't know."
Far too many ghost hunters, and even paranormal investigators believe
that they KNOW what they're doing, and that they know things pertaining
to the paranormal.
You have to give yourself permission to have no clue about this stuff.
Embrace your ignorance.
In REALITY, nobody knows anything. People have been studying, and
investigating the paranormal since 100AD, and in all that time we've
made ZERO progress. Don't you think that if we KNEW something, we would
have done more by now?
We know nothing. NOBODY knows anything. Most people THINK that they
know things, but they don't even know that they don't know. :\
We know more than everyone else because we at least know that we know
nothing.
3) Separation Of Science & Religion
Religious zealotism has taken a strong
foothold of the paranormal field. A TV show or two forces Christian beliefs by claiming every other 'haunting' that
produces negativity MUST be demonic. The Wiccan community has their own
beliefs that have spread throughout the field, and are now being
followed by NON wiccans. The belief in dowsing rids, mediums and other
methods of divination have become so commonplace in the field that the
words of their practitioners are now being followed like a religion.
Scientology and Buddhism haven't planted their flag yet, but I'm sure
its just a matter of time.
What religion is right? What religion knows the truth? These are
questions OLDER than the paranormal field of study itself. Maybe THOSE
questions should be answered before we start mixing them with
scientific discovery. Ya think?
Beyond paranormal Investigations DOES NOT mix our spiritual beliefs
with scientific fact. We all have our own beliefs and religions, but
they are completely irrelevant when it comes to data analysis, and
quantifiable fact.
4) Moderate Black & White Thinking
Things either ARE or they ARE NOT. We
don't look at a photograph of something, and try to see something
paranormal in it. It's either there, or it is NOT. If we have to TRY to
see it, or use or imagination, then it IS NOT evidence of anything. It
MUST be discarded.
There
IS a moderation to this line of thinking. If it wasn't used in
moderation, it could be taken to an absurd, and even cynical level.
We're not cynics. Most, if not all of us are believers in the
paranormal.
We know that photographs are easy to manipulate, and odd things can
happen when taking a picture. With black and white thinking, we know
that they are NOT evidence of anything. The moderation tells us that
sometimes, it's all we have to work with.
EVP as well can accidentally be altered by outside influences. Higher
powered Citizens Band radios, for example will even distort your
television screen when used. It's VERY possible that while recording
EVP, you could inadvertently record someone using their radio, or some
other device.
With that possibility, EVP IS NOT solid paranormal evidence... But,
it's all we have to go on so, we have to let it go. You have to think
in moderation with this or you become a cynic, and not an open-minded
investigator.
Knowing what's what in a black and white way, allows members of Beyond
Paranormal Investigations to think of new ways to do things in order to
make things less variable, and more solid.
5) Money
There are a lot of people in the
paranormal field, investigation, and ghost hunter organizations that
use the paranormal field to make money.
We at Beyond Paranormal Investigations consider this to be an
unethical, and down right despicable practice.
Many websites have stores, and things to help them fund their efforts
by selling books, advertisements, and ghost hunting gadgets. This is
not what I'm talking about. A lot of groups NEED that sort of revenue
to survive.
We're talking about these on line classes on ghost hunting that take
peoples money to teach them about the paranormal. Remember, the field
has no established facts, and these people are taking peoples money to
teach them stuff that they've either simply MADE UP, or thieved from
the old research thats already available for free to everyone.
We're talking about paranormal teams that charge families, and
businesses to do an investigation or ghost hunt.
We're talking about these sites that charge people to teach them how to
'tap into their psychic abilities'.
Even those phone numbers, Ms. Cleo, and the Psychic Friends Network
have disclaimers that say "For
Entertainment Purposes Only" to LEGALLY take peoples money. The
others that I'd mentioned before have no disclaimer, and are
constantly, and fraudulently taking peoples money.
Nobody ever calls them on it.
6) Expertise & Ego
There are no paranormal experts in Beyond
Paranormal Investigations.
Many people call themselves, and others experts, when in fact there is
no such thing as a paranormal expert. Once again, the field has no
established facts to be an expert of.
Using the word to call yourself an expert is nothing more than ego.
Calling someone else an expert is putting them on an unearned pedestal.
We embrace the fact that we have no answers. We're also VERY willing to knock those self proclaimed 'experts' off of their pedistals.
7)
Certifications
Beyond Paranormal Investigations ARE NOT
certified as paranormal investigators, and we do not recognize
paranormal certifications as being legitimate.
As stated before, there are organizations that charge money to teach
courses on paranormal studies. The money issue is its own problem, but
these 'courses' award meaningless certifications in the paranormal field. Because
of this, we now have CERTIFIED paranormal experts.
Are these people for real?
They paid their hard earned money to get certified as experts by frauds in a field with no facts.
This is getting ridiculous.
Unless the person who paid and "earned' the certification is completely
gullible, or stupid, they did it KNOWING that it's a meaningless
certification.
Why?
8) Pedestals
We mentioned the pedistals before. There are a lot of television shows, as well as people who have been in the field for many many years. A lot of people
in the field put these investigators, and television stars on a
pedestal as people to be looked up to. These people often get more
respect than others in the field for some reason.
We at Beyond paranormal Investigations understand that even the people
on television have accomplished next to nothing in the paranormal
field. They just somehow got on TV. This DOES NOT give them paranormal
credibility in our eyes.
It gives them more scrutiny.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but we believe that television
stars, and famous investigators aren't the be all, or end all of the
paranormal field. There are a lot of unknown teams, and people out
there doing GOOD work, and often contribute a lot more to the field
than the people on the television.
9)
Thinking Outside The Box
Beyond Paranormal Investigations try to go
beyond what we've been told by other investigators, past, and present.
There are a lot of ideas, and theories out there. Most investigation
teams just take what they're told and use it, and record the results
that they can capture.
That's great, but we try to think more outside the box, and try not to
blindly accept things we're told by others. We're all about looking at
things from new perspectives, and trying what hasn't been tried.
10) Setting An Example
Beyond Paranormal Investigations needs to
set a better example for the paranormal community. If you take a step
back and look at the field as a whole, it's in shambles. Everyone uses
bad methodology, and follows the flavor of the month television star.
They're fueled by ego, or greed, and there is no progress being made.
Someone has accomplish something, and set a positive example. Why not
us?
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